4 




RECENT 



BIBLE LANDS; 

CONSISTING OF 

SKETCHES WRITTEN FROM PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS; GIVING RESULTS OF 
REGENT RESEARCHES IN THE EAST, AND THE RECOVERY OF 
MANY. PLACES IN SACRED HISTORY LONG 
CONSIDERED LOST. 



3llustntiefr miilj Mm Jlhp nnir manq (Drigiiml dJtignmings. 

FRANK S. DE IIASS, D.D., 

Member of the American Geographical Society, and late United States Consul 

at Jerusalem. 



NEW YORK: 
PUIEiIjIPS cSc ZE3I XJ IsT T 
CINCINNATI; 
WALDEN & STOWE. 

i860. 



Copyright 1880, by 
FRANK S. DE HASS, D.D., 
New York. 



DEDICATION. 



TO MY NUMEROUS FRIENDS, 

WHO HAVE REQUESTED THE PUBLICATION OP THESE SKETCHES; 

TO THE WIFE OF MY YOUTH, 

WHO ACCOMPANIED ME IN ALL MY TRAVELS THROUGH THE ORIENT ; 

TO MY AGED MOTHER, 

WHO EARLY TURNED MY WAYWARD FEET INTO THE PATH OP LIFE ; 
TO THE MEMORY OF 

MY HONORED AND SAINTED FATHER, 

WHO, AS HIS SON WAS EXPLORING THE EARTHLY, PEACEFULLY DEPARTED 
FOR THE HEAVENLY, CANAAN ; 

AND ABOVE ALL, 

TO GOD, 

WHO HATH GRACIOUSLY PRESERVED ME IN ALL MY JOURNEYINGS AT HOME 

AND ABROAD, 

I AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATE 

This Sattuemr of tire ^olij Land. 



INTRODUCTION. 

THE author's object in accepting an appointment under the 
United States Government, and making his home for 
several years in Palestine, was not the honor or emoluments of 
office ; bnt a desire to visit the lands of the Bible, that he might 
examine and see for himself how far the manners, customs, and 
traditions of the people and topography of those countries, 
agreed with the inspired word. 

The sketches embraced in this volume were originally written 
for the author's own gratification, amidst the vivid scenes 
where the events described occurred ; and it is a remarkable 
fact that almost every place mentioned in the Bible where 
any great event transpired may still be visited and identified, 
and generally identified by their old Hebrew names in the 
Arabic form — a most wonderful philological corroboration 
of the Biblical narrative. 

Recent explorations in the East have resulted in the re- 
covery of many places in sacred history long regarded as 
lost; and as the facts brought out by these explorations are 
not accessible to the general reader, the author has compiled 
them in this concise form, and at the request of numerous 
friends gives them to the public in the hope that they may 
contribute in some degree to the elucidation of the Scriptures, 
correct some of the errors that many travelers have fallen into 



10 



INTRODUCTION. 



by a too hasty or superficial view of the places visited, and 
furnish all students of the Bible with the results of the latest 
researches in these lands, so full of sacred and historic lore. 

Personally, the author does not claim to have made all these 
discoveries ; but, having visited and carefully examined the 
excavations made by Marietta Bey in Egypt, Dr. Schliemann 
at Troy, Dr. "Wood in Asia Minor, and General Cesnola on 
Cyprus, and having been with "Warren, Wilson, Drake, Gan- 
neau, Conder, Maudslay, and others, in and around Jerusalem 
— also having traveled with Dr. Strong's party through Moab, 
and followed Dr. Porter through the Hauran — he writes from 
observations personally made, relying, however, in some in- 
stances, for the correctness of his statements on the survevs 
and investigations of the eminent archaeologists named. 

Palestine, the great center of religious interest, though 
comparatively a small mountainous country, has, nevertheless, 
been the theater of the most stirring and momentous events in 
the history of our world. Learned divines, historians, and anti- 
quarians for ages have been visiting this land, giving us glowing 
descriptions of their travels and the results of their investiga- 
tions, until our libraries teem with volumes on these subjects ; 
and yet the desire to know more about this country was never 
greater than at present. No other land is so fruitful a theme 
for meditation or so hallowed in its associations ; and, what is 
remarkable, it never loses its interest. The whole country 
seems to breathe an inspiration, and to the devout mind is 
fragrant with the most sacred memories. 

The scene of God's revelations to man, the land that sug- 



INTRODUCTION. 



11 



gested to the Jewish prophets their beautiful imagery, and to 
the great Teacher illustrations of his doctrines and narratives, 
can no more be exhausted than Deity himself. The more we 
read and know about Palestine the more interest it awakens. 
The influence of the name of Jesus, and the glory of his per- 
sonal presence, seem to pervade the whole land, and the weary 
footprints of the " Man of Sorrows " are too deeply stamped 
upon its rocks ever to be effaced. 

The writer's official position, and his connection with the 
American and English Palestine Exploration Societies, afforded 
him many facilities in his researches he otherwise could not 
have enjoyed : and under the conviction that these investiga- 
tions must tend to further corroborate the inspired record, and 
that every new volume written on the subject must add to the 
knowledge and strengthen the faith of all lovers of the truth, he 
casts these fresh leaves on the waters, with the sincere prayer 
that they may not return void, but correct in some measure 
the perverse tendency of the age to doubt the credibility of 
God's Holy Word. 

F. S. de Hass. 

Nrw York, April, 1880. 



CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

EGYPT, IN ITS RELATION TO THE BIBLE. 

CHAPTER I. 

PAOK 



Our Inheritance in Egypt — The Bible Written on her Monuments 23 

CHAPTER II. 

Alexandria — Seat op Greek Philosophy and Christian Theology 33 

CHAPTER III. 

Heliopolis, Pyramids, and Colossal Sphinx 42 

CHAPTER IV. 

Memphis, the Noph of Scripture — Necropolis of Egypt 53 

CHAPTER V. 

Thebes, the Xo-amon of the Bible — Grand Temple of Karnak . . . 60 

CHAPTER VI. 

Island of Phil^e, Last Seat of Egyptian Idolatry 81 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Exodus — Passage of the Red Sea, and Wilderness of Wandering. ... 90 



PART II. 

THE LAND OF ISRAEL. 
CHAPTER I. 

The Promised Land — Its Early Inhabitants and Conquest 109 

CHAPTER II. 

Jaffa to Jerusalem — Tent Life in the Holy Land 119 



CONTEXTS. 



13 



CHAPTER III. 

PAGE 

City of the Great King — A Walk about Zion ug 

CHAPTER IV. 

Moriah — The Mountain of the Lord's House — Solomon's Temple 145 

CHAPTER V. 

Golgotha and Tomb of Christ — Traditional Sites 160 

CHAPTER VI. 

Roial Sepulcher of the House of David — Rock-hewn Tombs 172 

CHAPTER VII. 

Easter Festivities in Jerusalem — Solemn Mockeries 183 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Bethlehem, and Hill Country of Judea — Locusts and Wild Honey 191 

CHAPTER IX. 

Pools of Solomon — Cave of Adullam — Tomb of Herod , 202 

CHAPTER X. 

Hebron — Cave of Machpelah — Beer-sheba — Well of Abraham, 213 

CHAPTER XI. 

Land of the Philistines — An Extinct Race 224 

CHAPTER XII. 

Sea-coast of Palestine — Plain of Sharon — Ancient Tyre 233 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Mount Carmel — Scene of Elijah's Sacrifice — Convent and Grotto 244 

CHAPTER XIV. 

From Jerusalem to Damascus— Bethel — Jacob's Well — Galilee 253 

CHAPTER XV. 

Down to Jericho — Valley of the Jordan— Plain of Gilgal 278 



14 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

PAGE 

The Dead Sea — Cities op the Plain — Lot's Wipe 294 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Fortress op Masada, Engedi, and Clifp of Ziz 305 

PART III. 

TRANS-JORDAN I C PALESTINE. 
CHAPTER I. 

The Land op Moab — Fortress op Mach^erus — Prison op John the Baptist. . 315 

CHAPTER II. 

Hot Springs op Calirrhoe — Moabite Stone and Pottery 329 

CHAPTER III. 

Mount Pisgah— Grand Outlook from its Summit 341 

CHAPTER IV. 

Land op Gilead — Remarkable Ruins — Wild Sons of Ishmael 350 

CHAPTER V. 

Stone Cities of Bashan and the Hauran — Giant Races 366 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Land of Uz — Traditional Palace of Job 382 

CHAPTER VII. 

Argob and Padan-aram — Haran probably in Syria 393 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Latest Discoveries in Assyria and Palestine — Recovery of Nineveh 404 

CHAPTER IX. 

Homeward Bound — Damascus — Baalbec — Ephesus — Athens 431 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGB 

Aaron's Tomb 171 

Adonis, River 440 

Adullam, Cave of 207 

Alexandria, Modern 34 

Ali Diab, Sheik of the Adwans 351 

American Consulate, Jerusalem Frontispiece \S 

Apis, or Sacred Bull 57 

Arabs Eating 352 

Arak el Emir, Rock-hewn Palace 356 

Arch, Ecce Homo 134 

Askelon, Ruins of , 228 

Assyrian Black Obelisk 411 

Assyrian Sculpture and Seals 408, 409, 414, 415 

Assyrian Tablet of the Deluge 412 

Baalbec, Great Stone 43 G 

Baalbec, Ruins of Temple 430 

Baal, Head of 3S5 

Banias, Grotto and Source of the Jordan 274 

Bedouin Camp 352 

Beelzebub, Image of 425 

Beersheba 221 

Bethlehem, Church of the Nativity 1S9 

Bloody Way 279 

Bozrah, Ruins of 378 

Bridge, Natural, Mt. Lebanon 441 

Bridge, Robinson's 150 

Calirrhoe, Hot Springs 331 

Camels, Ships of the Desert , 97 

Camp Life in the Holy Land 112 

Capernaum and Sea of Galilee 269 

Castle of Subeibeh, Mount Hermon 276 

Cave under Dome of the Rock 152 

Cedars of Lebanon 43S 

Cesarea Philippi, Banias 272 



1G ■ LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAOB 

Church of the Ascension , 141 

Church of the Holy Sepulcher , 161 

Coins, Ancient Jewish, Widow's Mite. 312 

Colossal Statues, Thebes 75 

Convent of St. Catharine 99 

Crucifixion 185 

Damascus, View of 432 

Damascus, Wall and East Gate , 43a 

Dead Sea, from Engedi 310 

Donkey of Alexandria 37 

Down to Jericho 280 

Dromedary Riding 271 

Egyptian Boat, Ancient 41 

Egyptian Brick 73 

Egyptian Funeral. 59 

Egyptian Gate-way 2] 

Egyptian Remains, Island of Philao 79 

Egyptian Sculpture — Hebrews Making Brick 25, 86 

Egyptian Temple, Exterior.. 69 

Egyptian Temple, Interior 31 

El Aksa, Temple Inclosure 158 

El Kuzneh, Petra 103 

Engedi and Cliff of Ziz 310 

Ephesus, Ruins of 444 

Pish Pools of Heshbon 321 

Plight into Egypt 24 

Flint Knives, from Tomb of Joshua 284 

Ford of the Jordan 285 

Fountain at Tomb of Dorcas 182 

Gadara, Ruins 363 

Gate of Damascus, Jerusalem 254 

Gate-way of the Sik, Petra 102 

Gethsemane and Olivet 138 

Golden Gate, Temple of Solomon 146 

Grapes of Palestine 365 

Great Sea under Temple Court 147 

Grecian Temple — Hauran 392 

Grinding at the Mill 130 

Hadrian's Statue, Head of 427 

Haggai's Seal 154 

Hebrew Inscriptions 422 

Hebron 219 

Hezekiah's Pool and Dome over the Tomb of Christ 170 



LIST OF ILLCSTIiATlOXS. 17 

PA<JB 

Hiram's Tomb. 242 

Hyrcanus, Castle of 355 

Inscribed Rocks — Wady Mukatteb 100 

Jacob's Well 175 

Jaffa, From the Sea 121 

Jerash, Mahanuim 360 

Jericho, Ruin 287 

Jerusalem, Plan of the City 131 

Jerusalem, View from Olivet 125 

Jerusalem, View from the "Wall 144 

Jew, Polish .. 117 

Jews' Wailing Place „ 129 

Job's Traditional Palace, Kunawat 388 

Joseph's Tomb 175 

Karnak, Temple of 64 

Kedron Valley 135 

Kirjath Jearim — Emmaus 122 

Lamps, Egyptian 89 

Last Judgment, Egyptian 86 

Levitical Cities, Plan of 423 

Lotus of the Nile 32 

Luxor, Ruins of 61 

Machserus, Fortress of 328 

Maps of Palestine and Gulf of Suez 3, 91 

Mars' Hill, Athens 447 

Masada, Fortress and Synagogue 307 

Moabite Pottery and Images 345 

Moabite Stone 336 

Moabite Vase and Inscription 420 

Mosque of Omar 155 

Mountains East of Dead Sea 297 

Mount Carmel and Convent 245 

Mount Tabor 249 

Mummy Case, Egyptian 55 

Nablous, Ancient Shechem 260 

Nazareth 263 

Nineveh, Excavations 405 

Oak of Abraham 215 

Oak of Bashan 358 

Obelisk, Heliopolis 44 

Palm Trees 201 

Pompey's Pillar 36 

Pools of Solomon 203 



18 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAOK 

Pyramids 4 1> 

Quarantania, Mount of Temptation. 29 1 

Rabbah Ammon . 318 

Rachel's Tomb 192; 

Ramesium, Colossal Statue 74 

Rehoboam, Son and Successor of Solomon. 67 

Robbers' Retreat 265 

Rock-cut Tombs, Jewish 181 

Rock-hewn Tombs — Interior 174 

Samaria, Ruins 261 

Sealed Fountain 204 

Seals, Assyrian 414,415 

Smitten Rock 223 

Sphinx 51 

Sphinx, Theban 62: 

Springs of Moses, Mount Pisgah 344 

Stone Houses of the Hauran, Stone Door 371, 397 

Stork and Nest 445 

Suez Canal 4<> 

Table- ware, Egyptian 72 

Temple of Isis, Island of Philu.- 

Tomb of Bishop Kingsley 44 2 

Tomb of Christ. 1 f..> 

Tomb of David, with Diagram 177, 179 

Tomb of Joseph 175 

Tomb of the Judges 17H 

Tombs of the Kings, Egypt 77 

Tyre 24 O 

Vaults Under the Temple Platform 143 

Water Wheel for Irrigation 277 

Well of Abraham 221 

Wells of Moses 95 

Wilderness of Judea 198 

Winged Globe, Egyptian 63- 

Winged Lion, Nineveh 4i»S 

Wnnden Statue, Found at Memphis 27' 



PART 1. 

EGYPT IN ITS EELATION TO THE BIBLE. 



" The Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt . . . with 
a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm." Exod. xii, 51 ; Deut. xxri. 8. 




EGYPTIAN' GATE-WAY. 



EECENT TRAVELS AND EXPLORATIONS 

IX 

BIBLE LANDS. 



CHAPTER L 

OUR INHERITANCE IN EGYPT. 

Relation of Egypt to Palestine — The Bible written on her Monuments — Oldest 
Civilized Portion of our Globe — Egyptian Chronology — No Conflict with the 
Mosaic Account — The Hieroglyphics not reliable as Chronological Records — 
History Lost in Mystery — The " Rosetta Stone " — Religion of the Old Egyp- 
tians — Their Worship compared with that of the Hebrews. 

EGYPT and Palestine are so closely related, and their 
histories so interwoven, it is difficult to separate them, 
or to write about the one without including tlie other. Many 
of the prophecies of the Bible refer to Egypt, and their 
striking fulfillment may be seen in the present condition 
of this country ; and many other important events recorded in 
the Scriptures transpired here. Abraham, when driven by 
famine from Canaan, found here a home and plenty ; the 
beautiful narrative of Joseph is located here ; Jacob and 
his sons settled here ; and for four hundred and thirty 
years this land was the asylum and heritage of the Church: 
here Moses was born, and the Passover instituted; the 
wife of Solomon was a (laughter of the reigning Pharaoh; 
and hither the holy family fled for safety from the bloody 



24 



BIBLE LANDS. 



sword of Herod ; thus fulfilling the prophecy, " Out of Egypt 
have I called my Son." 1 And, what is very remarkable^ 
many names mentioned in the Scriptures, such as Ham, 
Mizraim, Potiphar, Shishak, Asenath the wife of Joseph,, 
and others, are still found written on her monuments, and 
many incidents of the Bible are recorded in sculpture and 
hieroglyphics on her grand temples. In one place we have 
what appears to be a representation of Joseph introducing Ills- 




flight IXTO EGYPT. 

brethren to Pharaoh ; in another, the Hebrews making brick, 
with a decree ordering them to build the tenrple and quarry 
stone for Eameses ; their task-masters standing by with 
scourge in hand urging them "not to be idle;'', and in still 
another, an account of the exodus, or a race of strangers 
going up out of Egypt and settling in Syria, under a leader 
by the name of Osarsiph, which is identical with that of Moses, 
the name being derived from Osiris, the golden Apis. Also, 
an account of plentiful harvests, and the filling of the royal 

1 Matthew ii, 15. 



EGYPTIAN CHRONOLOGY. 



25 



granaries with corn, followed by a great famine, agreeing with, 
that which prevailed in the time of Joseph. 1 

Egypt is probably the oldest civilized portion of our globe. 
Little, however, is known of her history prior to Abraham • 
in fact, nothing reliable. The works of Manetho, her only his- 
torian, who wrote B. C. 285, have long since been lost, and 
all we know of his writings is what has been transmitted to 
us by later authors, after passing through many hands, and, no 
doubt, greatly perverted. 




EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE HEBREWS MAKING BRICK. 



Some claim for this country a much higher antiquity than 
the Mosaic chronology or the facts will warrant, as must ap- 
pear to every candid reader who investigates the subject. In 
dealing with this question of chronology we shall do so with 
reverence and freedom — reverence for every thing sacred and 
venerable, freedom in regard to the opinions and theories of 
others — with the one desire to arrive at the truth in relation to 
the age of those wonderful remains that mark the development 
of our world's civilization. 

It is claimed, for example, that on the ancestral tablets only 

1 See Brugsch's "Histoire d'Egypte," second edition, p. 1'7'7. 



26 



BIBLE LANDS. 



lately recovered the names of certain Pharaohs are found, each 
reigning so many years, and when yon come to compute the 
whole list it carries yon back beyond our era five thousand 
years or more. Which is true. But then they overlook the 
important fact that these kings did not reign successively, but, 
in many instances, contemporaneously, rival Pharaohs being 
on the thrones of Upper and Lower Egypt at the same time, 
and in other instances father and son were associated in the 
government of the country. Then there are many gaps or 
omissions in these tablets which, when supplied with the 
proper data, remove all difficulties in harmonizing the Hebrew 
and Egyptian chronology. 

It is further argued that the sediment deposited during the 
annual overflow of the Xile accumulates at the rate of so 
many inches in a century, and, as from twenty to thirty feet 
of this alluvial deposit are found over some of these buried 
cities, they, therefore, must be from six to eight thousand 
years old. This, however, does not follow, as the deposit some 
years is much greater than others, and forms in the eddies over 
these ruins much faster than out on the naked plain. This 
whole argument reminds me of the logic of a noted humorist, 1 
who, in ridiculing the theories of some of our modern scien- 
tists, says : "It can be easily demonstrated that the Mississippi 
Piver, by washing out new channels across her great bends, has 
shortened the distance between Cairo, at the mouth of the 
Ohio, and Xew Orleans, at least one hundred and sixty 
miles in the last two hundred years ; " which being admit- 
ted, he then very amusingly concludes, " that if this process 
continues for two thousand years longer, Xew Orleans will 
be where Cairo now stands ! " And this is about the weight 

i Mark Twain. 



EGYPTIAN REMAINS. 27 

of the arguments advanced against the chronology of the 
Bible. It is also a notable fact that the oldest relics found in 
the oldest tombs of Egypt are wooden coffins and idols, 
in many instances not the least decayed ; embalmed mummies, 
the linen wrappings upon them scarcely soiled ; rolls of papyri 




WOODEN STATUE. ONE OF THE OLDEST RELICS FOUND IN EGYPT. 



28 



BIBLE LAXDS, 



as legible as if written on but yesterday; eggs, looking as 
fresh as if just taken from the nest ; garden seeds and wheat, 
said still to retain their vitality ; loaves of bread, different 
kinds of vegetables, even honey in the comb ; nothing to war- 
rant a more remote antiquity than the Mosaic account, espe- 
cially if we adopt the Septuagint standard. And what makes 
these statements of the skeptic appear even more absurd is 
the fact that in some of these cities which they affirm have 
been buried ten thousand years or more, recently have been 
found coins and pieces of pottery belonging to the Greek and 
Eoman period. And the zodiac carved on the ceiling of 
the temple at Denderah, which at first was claimed by the 
French to be from fifteen to seventeen thousand years old, has 
since been proven to belong to the first century of our era. 

We admit that, next to the Bible, the monuments of Egypt 
contain the earliest chronological history of our race, but these 
records are not entirely reliable, in part owing to the lack of 
proper data and the vagueness of the Egyptian year, and are 
not sufficient to set aside the authority of G-od's word. 
Even learned Egyptologists cannot agree on certain dates, as 
by comparing the statements of Bunsen, Wilkinson, Mariette, 
and other eminent archaeologists, you will find a discrepancy 
of from one to three thousand years in their calculations. So 
that the early history of this ancient people is lost in mythical 
conjectures, and a deep mystery still hangs over the land of 
the once mighty Pharaohs. The Kile, so mysterious in its 
source, but more mysterious in its annual rise, sweeps on 
in its course for thousands of miles under a cloudless sky, 
causing the parched desert to rejoice, and the rainless region 
through which it flows to blossom as the rose. Along the 
banks of this sacred river, half-buried in the ever-drifting 



ROSETTA STONE. 



sands, are the ruins of many temples, the fires on whose altars 
have long since been extinguished, and the remains of a thou- 
sand cities whose histories are lost in the misty past. 

Standing upon the great rock-bed of the Libyan desert are 
those wonderful Pyramids whose origin is also involved in im- 
penetrable mystery. Who conceived or executed these stu- 
pendous monuments will, more than likely, forever remain 
unknown. Looking down upon the placid waters of this 
renowned stream reclines »the colossal Sphinx, the local deity 
of the ancient Egyptians, invested with the same mystery. 
And in whatever direction you turn your eyes the mind is 
appalled as it contemplates lone obelisks, of vast dimensions ; 
gigantic statues, wonderful to behold ; grand edifices, forming 
a labyrinth of gorgeous halls ; the origin of all being en- 
shrouded in the most profound mystery. And yet this obscur- 
ity imparts a peculiar charm and romance to the country. 
One can spend days and weeks amid these ruins without any 
sense of weariness, not knowing what moment he may discover 
the hidden key to some secret door that may unlock the mys- 
teries of ages or lead to mines of untold wealth. 

Since the discovery by the French of the celebrated " Eo- 
s'etta Stone," 1 at the mouth of the Nile in the summer of 
1799, and its translation by Champollion, much additional light 
has been shed on the hitherto obscure history of this country. 
And the explorations still going on under the direction of 
that indefatigable archaeologist, Mariette Be}^, furnish us with 

1 This stone, now in the British Museum, is a trilingual tablet of black basalt, 
containing a decree in honor of Ptolemy Epiphanes, B. C. 196, written in three 
different languages — the Greek, the hieroglyphic, or sacred language of the priests, 
and the demotic, or common dialect of the people. The deciphering of this stone 
afforded a key to the hitherto mysterious hieroglyphics on these monuments, 
which can now be read with as much ease as any other dead language. 



30 BIBLE LA^DS. 

many additional facts touching the occupancy of the land by 
the Jews, and the religion of the old Egyptians, proving very 
conclusively that the latter had no clear idea of the immor- 
tality of the human soul, or the resurrection of the body, or 
other biblical truths, before the settlement of the Hebrews 
among them. "We also find that in their religious sentiments 
they were very much like the Jews, both being of a deeply 
spiritual turn of mind, ever contemplating the future, but in 
other respects very dissimilar. 

The Egyptians were polytheists and pantheists, God, accord- 
ing to their idea, not being a person, but an essence diffused 
throughout all nature — animate and inanimate. Many of their 
gods were creations of their own fancy, some of them the 
most ludicrous monstrosities. Osiris, their principal divinity, 
was represented in Apis, the sacred bull ; Athor, either as a 
cow or with cow's horns on her head ; Thoth, with the head of 
an ibis ; Anubis, always with a jackal's head ; Kneph, with the 
head of a ram ; Pasht, with a lion's or cat's head ; Se^ak, with 
the head of a crocodile ; Horus, with that of a hawk , Typhon, 
their evil genius, as an ass, with many others equally fanciful. 
Almost every animal, bird, and insect that lives, and every 
vegetable that grows, was .with them an object of divine wor- 
ship, under the impression that the gods were personified in 
these objects. 

On the other hand, the Hebrews believed in but one 
Supreme Being, invisible, allwise, and eternal! Among the 
Egyptians every temple was full of idols, and the walls, 
ceilings, and columns were covered with sculptures, paintings, 
and inscriptions from top to bottom, within and without, all in 
honor of their gods. And every statue and work of art, from 
the colossi to the smallest scarabee, bore the image of, and was 



EELIGIOUS IDEAS. 31 

dedicated to some god. But among the Jews every thing 
was spiritual, intellectual, and typical of something purer, 
grander, and more enduring. God was supreme in their 
thoughts and affections. They worshiped not by sight, but by 




INTERIOR OF THE TEMPLE OF ISIS. 



faith, as seeing the Invisible himself ; no idol, no painting, no- 
inscription of any kind, has ever been found upon all the 
monuments of Israel in the Holy Land. After the conquest of 



32 



BIBLE LAUDS. 



Palestine by Alexander we iind some traces of Grecian sculpt- 
ure and inscriptions, but on the works of the old Hebrews 
there is nothing to indicate their name, age, or object, which 
no one can but regret, as most of these remains are without 
name or history. 

After these general remarks in reference to the history, 
■chronology, and religious ideas of this ancient nation, we shall 
proceed to notice some of their most interesting monumental 
remains, showing their connection with our faith and with the 
sojourn of Israel in "the land of Ham." 




THE LOTUS OF THE NILE. 



CHAPTER II. 



ANCIENT ALEXANDRIA SEAT OF GREEK PIIILOSOPIIY AND 

CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY. 

Royal City of Alexander the Great— Ancient Splendor — The Pharos — Christianity 
early Planted here— Cleopatra's Needle — Pompey's Pillar — Modern City — 
Backsheesh — Oriental Scenes — Veiled Women — Dogs — Donkeys — Failure of 
the Khedive to conquer Abyssinia — Suez Canal probably first projected by 
Joseph. 

THE tourist from America or Europe visiting Egypt gener- 
ally lands at Alexandria, founded by the great general 
whose name it bears, 33. C. 332. The city was laid out by Dinoc- 
rates, architect of the famous temple of Diana, at Ephesus, who 
on one occasion proposed cutting Mount Athos into a colossal 
statue of Alexander, holding a city in one hand and pouring 
out a river from the other. Alexandria, being situated in the 
Delta of the Nile, near to Asia and convenient to Europe, was 
long regarded as only second to imperial Rome, and is still the 
largest commercial city in Africa. It is not our purpose, how- 
ever, to attempt any detailed description of the magnificence 
of ancient Alexandria, with its four thousand palaces, grand 
temples, beautiful gardens, numerous schools, and rich collec- 
tions of art. The far-seeing Macedonian designed it as the em- 
porium for the entire East, and from its peculiar circular shape 
one would suppose that the mighty conqueror really intended 
throwing his mantle over the whole world. As a strategic point 
Napoleon considered it of the first importance, and made it the 
base of operations in his attempted conquest of Asia. 

For many centuries this city was the great center of trade 
3 



34 



BIBLE LANDS. 



and learning, wealth and power. Here the Ptolemies, Cleopatras, 
and Caesars reigned in all their glory ; here science, literature, 
and every branch of philosophy nourished; here the Hebrew 
Scriptures were first translated into the Greek, B. C. 280. 
Here, also, stood the famous Pharos, one of the seven wonders 
of the world, a light-house five hundred and fifty feet high, 
erected by Ptolemy Philadelphus, throwing out its beacon light 
for a hundred miles over the midnight sea. This tower was 




MODERN ALEXANDRIA. 

designed as a memorial of the king, who ordered his name to 
be inscribed on its pediment ; the architect, however, first cut 
his own name in the solid marble, placing over it, in stucco, 
the name of Ptolemy, which in a few years crumbled to dust, 
leaving that of Sostratus, the architect, emblazoned through 
after ages on the front of this unrivaled monument. 

Christianity was early planted here, according to some histori- 



ANCIENT ALEXANDRIA. 35 

ans, by the Apostle Peter. St. Mark, it is believed, was the first 
Bishop of the Church, and suffered martyrdom here. Clement, 
Athanasius, Origen, Cyril, and other eminent divines, were edu- 
cated here, and the eloquent Apollos was a native of this city. 
From lower Egypt Christianity rapidly extended to Cyrene, 
Libya, central and upper Egypt ; so that by the middle of the 
third century there were not less than twenty bishoprics in 
Egypt ; and in a corrupt form the Church still exists among 
the Copts, or natives of the country. This old seat of pagan 
philosophy and mysticism soon became the seat of Christian 
literature, and the Alexandrian School ranked among the oldest 
and highest Christian institutions of learning in the primitive 
Church. But little remains of her ancient grandeur. Most of 
the old city lies imbedded beneath the deposits of the Nile and 
sands of the desert. Her invaluable library of 700,000 MSS., 
containing a copy of every work then known, and collected 
with so much labor and expense, was consigned to the flames 
by order of Caliph Omar, after the fall of the city, A. D. 641. 

The Serapeum, the last temple of paganism in Alexandria, 
with its exquisite statues and vast treasures, was destroyed 
by Theodosius. Even the tomb of Alexander himself can 
no .longer be identified, and not a vestige of the celebrated 
Pharos remains. A single obelisk, one of the so-called Cleo- 
patra's Needles, and Pompey's Pillar, a beautiful red granite 
Corinthian column, one hundred feet high, including base and 
capital, and ten feet in diameter — the largest monolith in the 
world — still stand as old landmarks of this once opulent city. 4 

Egypt, under the lately deposed Khedive, Ismail Pasha, grand- 
son of Mohammed Ah, has rapidly advanced in civilization. 
Many Europeans are settling in the country ; new railroads and 
canals are being constructed ; Christian Churches and schools 



36 



BIBLE LANDS. 



are every- where springing up ; and Alexandria is sharing largely 
in this general prosperity, is lifting her head out of the dust 
of ages, and is fast recovering some of her ancient glory. 

The city contains a population of at least two hundred thou- 
sand, made up chiefly of Egyptians, Nubians, Arabs, and Turks ; 





pompey's pillar. 

and as you land in this motley crowd the first word that greets 
your ears will probably be backsheesh— an Arabic word you 
will never forget. It simply means some small gratuity, and 
wherever you stroll gangs of half -naked natives will follow 



ORIENTAL SCENES. 



you pleading for backsheesh. Enter any mosque, and it is 
backsheesh; go up or come down the pyramids, or go any- 
where else, and you hear nothing but backsheesh ! O howadji ! 
backsheesh ! ! backsheesh ! ! ! Like all Oriental cities, the 
streets of Alexandria are narrow and filthy; crowded with 
Arabs, dogs, and donkeys. The latter are used instead of street- 




ALEXANDRIAN DONKEY. 



cars for all short excursions, and are certainly very conven- 
ient little animals — especially for a tall man, as he can ride and 
walk at the same time ; and the dogs, like those of Cairo, are 
very dogmatic, leading lazy, independent lives, having no mas- 
ters to serve, or homes to guard — miserable, ugly curs, ever 
growling and snarling at all who disturb them as they lie 
coiled up in the streets. 

This is the land of sunshine and legends, of superstition and 



38 



BIBLE" LANDS. 



oppression. Every thing to the stranger appears different from 
every thing else he has ever seen before. The turbaned Turk, 
in his gay attire, sitting in his cozy bazaar ; the long caravans of 
camels, jogging quietly along, with nose erect and eye set as on 
Mecca ; and the women, veiled from head to foot, moving about 
like phantoms, make up such a picture as can only be seen in the 
Orient. In the East you scarcely ever see a woman's face on 
the streets. A man does not even see his intended wife's be- 
fore marriage, and not then unless he has paid for her. In 
Mohammedan countries all brides are sold to the highest bidder, 
the same as horses or camels, the money to be paid on delivery. 
Even after marriage the wife is kept like a prisoner in the 
harem, and always closely veiled when she appears in public. 
The Arabs have a proverb, " "When a wife has seen the guest, 
she cares no more for her husband ; " hence all freedom is 
denied her, and she spends her days dreaming of a liberty she has 
never enjoyed. Some men are so jealous of their wives, it is 
said, they will not allow them out on a moonlight night, lest 
the man in the moon should see them. One of the Khedive's 
wives being sick, he sent for our American physician to visit 
her; but the doctor said he could do nothing in the case un- 
less he could see the patient ; but as that privilege could not be 
granted, he insisted at least on seeing her tongue. So they ar- 
ranged to stretch a sheet over an opening in the wall, with a 
small slit cut in it, through which the patient protruded her 
tongue, and thus the doctor was enabled to prescribe. 

What the Khedive lacks in the development of his country 
are men and means to carry out his projects, His dominion at 
present is confined to the narrow valley of the Nile, with a 
population of only 5,000,000, not enough for a great nation; 
but far away to the south of him lies Abyssinia, rich in prod- 



SUEZ CANAL. 



39 



nets, with a population equal to his own, a prize his father long 
coveted. Two years ago the late Khedive sent an army into this 
territory, with a view of annexing it to Egypt, as he had done 
with Nubia. All counted on the success of the campaign ; but 
the Abyssinians, being nominally Christians, tired with religious 
ardor, defeated the Egyptians in every engagement, and almost 
exterminated the invading army. This reverse had a depress- 
ing effect on the Khedive, who fully calculated on the easy con- 
quest and absorption of Abyssinia, and had gone so far as 
to select his commissioners to arrange details, one of whom was 
the Protestant Bishop of Jerusalem, and another the Coptic 
Patriarch at Cairo. The King of Abyssinia, however, was not 
to be conquered thus easily, and when commanded by the Khe- 
dive to lay down his arms and surrender, Johannes very nobly 
and defiantly replied, " 'Not till you have restored to me every 
foot of territory between Jerusalem and Abyssinia." Since then 
peace has been established between the two countries, the 
Khedive indemnifying King John for the expenses of the 
war. 

One of the greatest works of the century, if not the greatest, 
was the completion in 1869 of the Suez Canal, connecting the 
Red Sea with the Mediterranean, at an outlay of $130,000,000 ! 
The canal is eighty-six and a half miles long, two hundred 
and fifty feet wide, and of sufficient depth to allow the largest 
vessels to pass through without difficulty, thus saving in the 
voyage from Europe and America to India or China from 
five to seven thousand miles in distance, and about a month in 
time. 

This great achievement was no new conception of the French, 
but the completion of a scheme that had been under contem- 
plation for three thousand years. It is recorded by Strabo,, 



40 



BIBLE LANDS. 



and other historians, that Rameses II., B. C. 1340, cut a canal 
between the Red Sea and the Nile. Others attribute the work 
to Sethi L, a century earlier, under whom Joseph served as gov- 
ernor, who may have been the original projector of this grand 
improvement. 1 Eight centuries later, according to Herodotus, 
Necho II. enlarged this canal, sacrificing 120,000 men on the 
work, and sent a fleet through it to circumnavigate Africa. 




bL'EZ canal. 



When the Persians, under Cambyses, B. C. 525, conquered the 
country, they found the canal no longer navigable ; but Darius, 
son of Hystaspes, re-opened it. In the course of centuries it 
again became obstructed with the sand, and was restored once 
more by the Emperor Trajan, in the beginning of our era, from 
which period it appears to have been kept open until finally 
filled up and destroyed by the Arab Caliphs. 

It remained, however, for Napoleon III. to conrplete this 
grand work of ages on a large scale, by cutting through Menzaleh 

1 Joseph introduced the system of irrigation into Egypt by cutting canals that 
still bear his name, and distributing the waters of the Nile over the neighboring 
desert, thus reclaiming a large district of waste territory. 



SUEZ CANAL. 



41 



and the Bitter Lakes a maritime canal from sea to sea ; which has 
proved as grand a success as the enterprise itself. During the 
last year 1,494 vessels, carrying 80,805 passengers, passed over 
this highway of the seas ; the receipts from freight and passen- 
gers amounted to $5,755,205, and its traffic is yearly increasing. 

England, who at first ridiculed the idea of a ship-canal across 
the Isthmus as visionary, was the first to profit by it ; and see- 
ing the importance of keeping up regular and rapid communi- 
cation with her East Indian Colonies, has lately purchased the 
Khedive's interest in this great improvement ; and, with Cyprus 
in her possession, will before many years control not only the 
canal, but Egypt and the whole Levant. 




ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BOAT. 



CHAPTER III. 



HELIOPOLIS AND THE PYRAMIDS. 

The On of Scripture — Grand Temple of the Sun — Ancient Seat of Learning — 
Legend of the Phoenix — One solitary Obelisk all that remains — The Pyramids 
of Ghizeh — Their Origin Invested with Mystery — Probably Tombs for their 
Gods and Kings — Latest Speculations — Cheops identical with Joseph, the 
Tlebrew — Piazzi Smyth's Theory — Colossal Sphinx — Interesting Legend — 
Reflections. 

HELIOPOLIS, the On of Scripture, and one of the oldest 
cities in Egypt, was situated at the head of the Delta, 
a few miles north of Cairo, the present capital, and on the 
borders of what was anciently the land of Goshen. This was 
the city of the grand Temple of the Sun, where the golden 
Apis was worshiped, and was the great seat of learning among 
the old Egyptians. Asenath, the wife of Joseph, was a 
daughter of the high-priest of this temple. 1 Here Moses was 
educated for his responsible mission. Here Plato and other 
Greeks obtained most of their knowledge of philosophy and 
astronomy ; and it was here, according to the legend, the fabled 
Phoenix was consumed. This bird was exceedingly beautiful, 
about the size of an eagle, with a plumage that shone like 
gold around its neck, a purple body, and a tail of blue and rose- 
colored feathers. It wore a coxcomb under its neck, and a 
magnificent crest on its head. This splendid-looking bird was 
supposed to live five hundred years, then burn itself, and rise 
again from its own ashes young, strong, and more beautiful 
than ever — a symbol of the resurrection of the human body. 

1 Gen. xli, 45. 



OBELISK OF ILELIOPOLIS. 



43 



The new birth of this fabulous creature always took place at 
Ileliopolis. The priest of the temple kindled a fire of spices 
on the altar, and the old bird, weary of life, after hovering 
for a few moments over the fumes, alighted in the flames 
and was soon consumed. On the second day after the burning 
a small worm appeared among the ashes on the altar, and on 
the third day the Phoenix rose again, more beautiful than ever, 
with powers of endurance warranted to last five hundred years 
longer. 

The Temple stood at one end of a large inclosure, three miles 
around, the walls of which may still be traced. Through 
this outer court there ran an avenue of marble sphinxes and 
granite obelisks terminating at the main entrance to the tem- 
ple — all of which have been destroyed or removed save one 
lone obelisk, the oldest in Egypt, still standing as erect, as 
when first elevated upon its pedestal four thousand years ago, 
guarding like an old sentinel the tomb of this long-buried city. 

This tapering shaft of red granite, which has withstood the 
storms and earthquakes of so many centuries, is about seventy 
feet high, and six feet three inches square at its base. The 
four faces are beautifully polished and covered with hiero- 
glyphics and symbolical figures deeply cut in the hard rock, 
showing great skill, and that it was erected as a monumental 
record by Osirtasen L, probably B.C. 20S0 years, if not earlier. 

The Egyptian name for these columns has been lost. They 
were called "obelisks" or needles by the Greeks, and the two 
that were removed from here to Alexandria by the Romans 
were known as " Cleopatra's Needles," though that renowned 
woman had nothing to do with them. One of these famous 
needles has just been taken to England ; the other has been 
promised to America, and in a few months may be seen at the 



44 



BIBLE LAXDS. 



entrance to the Central Park, Xew York, thus connecting 
the earliest and latest civilizations of our world. 1 

The Heliopolis obelisk formerly stood on an eminence ; now 
its base is at least six feet below the neighboring plain, indicat- 
ing how the. whole lower valley of the Xile is gradually filling up. 
Within ten minutes' walk of this old landmark is the celebrated 
" Fountain of the Sun,-' that supplied the temple with fresh. 




OBELISK. 



sweet water, the only living spring in Egypt ; and overshadow- 
ing this fountain is the venerable sycamore-tree, gnarled with 
age, under whose broad branches, it is said, the Holy Family 
encamped when they fled to Egypt from the wrath of Herod. 

1 The author was in .Alexandria at the time the English removed their obelisk, 
and through Mr. J. Baldwin Hay, formerly U. S. Consul-General at Beirut, pre- 
sented to the late Khedive, on the 16th of July, 1877, a request that the remaining 
needle be given to the United States, which the Viceroy afterward consented to do. 



THE PYRAMIDS. 



45 



With the conquest of Egypt by the Persians the glory of this 
city departed. With the rise of Alexandria under the Greeks 
she lost her prestige ; and with the birth of Christianity Heli- 
opolis died ! 

The greatest mystery, and oldest chronological records in 
Egypt, if not in the world, are the Pyramids — about seventy 
of which are still standing in the Yalley of the Nile. They be- 
long to the pre-historic age, and are among the earliest monu- 
ments of man. Herodotus, 33. C. 443, speaks of them as of 
great antiquity, but was as ignorant of their origin as we are. 

The most famous are those near Ghizeh, midway between 
Cairo and Memphis. They stand about one hundred feet above 
the overflow of the Kile, on the rocky ridge forming the east- 
ern border of the great African desert ; and the earthquakes of 
forty centuries have failed to move them from their firm 
foundations. 

The largest, known as the Pyramid of Cheops, is seven hun- 
dred and sixty-four feet square at the base, and rises at an angle 
of fifty-two degrees to the height of four hundred and eighty 
feet, (originally it was about twenty feet higher,) containing 
ninety million cubic feet, and covering an area of more than 
thirteen acres ; being larger than Madison Square, New York, 
and twice the height of Trinity Church spire. All this is solid 
masonry, of the most massive kind. Some of the stones are 
from twenty to thirty feet long, varying in thickness from 
three to five feet, evenly dressed and laid with mortar in regular 
courses. There is enough material in this pyramid to build a 
city large as Washington, including all the public edifices. 
According to Herodotus, four hundred thousand men were 
employed twenty years in the erection of this single monu- 
ment. They are all constructed on the same general principle : 



46 



BIBLE LANDS, 



" Oriented/' or facing the four cardinal points, with vaults or 
chambers within, and a passage leading thereto. 

They evidently were erected as tombs or mausoleums for 
their gods and kings, as they are always located in the midst of 
mummy pits. All stand west of the Nile, which was con- 
sidered the region of death ; and in all explored, sarcophagi 01 
mummies have been found ; in one, an embalmed bull. 




PYRAMIDS. 



The entrance to the Great Pyramid, the corner-stone of our 
civilization, which was originally closed, is a narrow passage 
three feet five inches wide, and three feet eleven inches high, 
on the north face, fifty feet above the base. This gangway 
appears to have been cut after the pyramid was built. On en- 
tering this contracted passage you descend at an angle of 
twenty-seven degrees for about one hundred feet, when you are 



PYRAMID OF CIIEOPS. 



47 



stopped suddenly by a granite plug closing up the entry en- 
tirely. Here, to avoid this obstruction, you make a short 
detour to the right upon your hands and knees, and by clamber- 
ing over some broken stones, and through a hole fourteen 
inches in diameter, torch in hand, and almost stifled with dust 
and smoke, you emerge into an ascending passage, no larger 
than the one you entered, and rising at the same angle, up 
which you climb with great difficulty into the grand gallery 
that leads to the queen's and king's chamber ; the latter a room 
thirty-four feet long, seventeen wide, and nineteen high, faced 
with red granite, highly polished, single slabs, extending from 
wall to wall overhead, forming the ceiling. This chamber is 
almost under the apex, and about three hundred and fifty feet 
from the outer entrance ; and it is a curious fact that this is the 
only pyramid containing two such large apartments, with an 
ascending gallery leading thereto. 

Xone but those who have full command of themselves should 
venture into this dark, prison-like tomb. Xo doubt many deaths 
have resulted from the fear produced by the awful gloom and 
confined atmosphere of this dismal palace of the dead. One 
lady of our party was carried out almost suffocated and partially 
paralyzed. 

Nothing was found in the pyramid when opened by Caliph 
Mahmoud, A. D. 850, but the empty, lidless sarcophagus of the 
once mighty, but now unknown, builder of this vast sepulchral 
monument. 

With the aid of two or three Arabs you can ascend to the top 
of Cheops, and enjoy one of the grandest views on earth. 
Beneath your feet repose the dead of forty centuries. To the 
north you have the meanderings of the Nile through the ever- 
green Delta ; to the west, the desert — the great African desert 



48 BIBLE LANDS. 

— the very synonym of utter desolation ; to the south, Mem- 
phis and her pyramids, where Joseph ruled the land under her 
most powerful and wisest Pharaoh : and to the east you can 
see the little island of Podah, where it is said Moses was found 
in his " ark of bulrushes and beyond, Cairo, with its numer- 
ous domes and minarets ; and still beyond, the citadel where 
the Mamelukes were massacred by order of Mohammed Ali, 
March 1, 1811. 

And the interest of this panorama is heightened by the asso- 
ciations it awakens. You stand upon a monument whose his- 
tory is lost in mystery ; dating back, at least, to the patriarchal 
age ; which must have witnessed the conquest of the country 
by Darius, Cambyses, and Alexander ; which was a problem to 
Pythagoras, Strabo, and Herodotus ; on which the Cleopatras, 
Ptolemies, and Caesars must have gazed with amazement ; and 
which inspired the army of the great Napoleon with ardor when 
battling beneath its shadow. 

Many theories have been advanced touching the age and ob- 
ject of the pyramids. Josephus, and other ancient historians, 
were of the opinion that some of them were built by the 
Hebrews during their oppression, which is very plausible, as 
several near Memphis are composed of large sun-dried brick, 
made without straw. 

Another theory is that the Great Pyramid was constructed 
by Joseph when governor of Egypt. The celebrated archae- 
ologist, Col. Howard Yyse, has discovered upon some of the 
stones of this pyramid certain hieroglyphics that answer to the 
name of Shoofoo — rendered by Herodotus Cheops, and Suphis 
by Manetho, but which is in reality the identical name of Joseph 
the Hebrew. It is, therefore, inferred that Joseph, during the 
long famine, when he gathered the people into the cities, and 



LATEST THEORIES. 



was compelled to feed and find them employment, engaged 
them in the construction of this grand monument, perhaps for 
astronomical purposes, or as a depository for valuable records ; 
and that, by order of Pharaoh, he was buried in it at his 
death, and when his people returned to Canaan they carried 
his remains with them, which will account for the empty 
sarcophagus, and the pyramid being closed again after first 
opened. 

It is also a singular coincidence that the description given by 
Herodotus of Cheops answers exactly the character of Joseph; 
who, he says, closed the temples of the Egyptians, and for- 
cibly employed the people in building this pyramid ; and that 
the same cartouch found here above the king's chamber, con- 
taining the name of Suphis, has been discovered in "Wady 
Magharah, on the route of the Israelites through the wilderness 
of Sinai. 

Josephus 1 speaks of the ancients erecting two pillars for the 
preservation of the early history of the world, and their knowl- 
edge of the heavenly bodies ; one of stone in Egypt, which may 
apply to this pyramid; the other of brick, "in the land of 
Siriad," which may refer to the Temple of Belus. And as 
the. Pyramid of Cheops was originally beautifully cased with 
marble and covered with hieroglyphics, may it not have been 
constructed for the twofold purpose of a tomb or depository 
for valuable records, and also as a historical and astronomical 
monument of the wisdom of the ancients, their knowledge of 
the heavenly bodies, and their discoveries in the natural 
sciences— so in case the world should be destroyed again by 
water or fire, some account of its history and inventions might 
!>e preserved ? The other pyramids, being of a later date, were 

1 Antiquities, i, 2. 

4 



50 



BIBLE LA.NDS. 



probably erected in imitation of this one, and evidently as 
tombs of royalty. 

But the most curious theory is that advanced by Piazzi 
Smyth, Professor of Astronomy in the University of Edin- 
burgh, and those who adopt his views. From certain calcula- 
tion based upon a granite " boss," or projection on one of the 
stones in the vestibule of the king's chamber, which they regard 
as a standard for the inch and cubit, they claim that this pyramid 
was built by inspiration, the same as Solomon's Temple or 
Noah's Ark, under the direction of the Great Architect of the 
universe, for astronomical purposes, and as a physical revela- 
tion — to determine the precession of the equinoxes, the sun's 
mean distance from the earth, the cardinal points of the earth's 
astronomical axis, the interval between its erection and the 
second coming of Christ, and many other mysteries of the 
moral and material universe. 

A symbolical meaning is also attached to almost every por- 
tion of the structure. The long, narrow gangway by which 
you enter, is interpreted to represent the Jewish dispensation • 
the grand gallery, the Christian Church ; the king's chamber, 
the heavenly world ; and the sarcophagus, or coffer therein,, 
the throne of the Eternal. It is also claimed that the "well" 
leading down to the base of the pyramid represents the way to 
perdition; the souterrain or cavern below, hades or the grave ; 
the inclining wall, the impending judgment of God ; and the 
supposed tomb of Cheops, far down in the solid rock, hell, or 
the prison of the damned. All which we regard as very 
apocryphal : nothing more than " extravagant nonsense.' r 
If one is allowed to establish his own standard of weights and 
measurements, he can prove almost anything from it; and this 
whole argument reminds me of the absurd speculations con- 



COLOSSAL SPHINX 51 

cerning Jacob's pillow, or the " Stone of Destiny " in the coro- 
nation chair of England. 

Five minutes' walk from this unsolved problem is another 
equally as wonderful. We refer to the colossal Sphinx. This 
enigma of history, which recent discoveries show to be older 



4± 




THE SPHINX. 



than the pyramids, has the head of a man and the body of a 
lion in a recumbent posture — a combination of great wisdom 
and strength. 

According to the legend, this fabulous monster visited differ- 
ent cities, propounding certain riddles, which if the people 
failed to guess, they were at once destroyed, with their city. 
"Finally this nondescript came to Egypt with the conundrum, 
AVhat animal is it that walks on four legs in the morning, on 
two at noon, and three at night \ They called together their 
seers, and the answer was man ; who in his infancy, or morn- 
ing of life, creeps upon his hands and feet : in his meridian. 



52 



BLBLE LANDS. 



stands erect ; and in his old age, or evening of life, leans upon 
his staff for support. The question having been answered, the 
Sphinx, so the story runs, immediately destroyed itself, or was 
turned into stone, as it now appears. 

This gigantic idol, the local deity of the old Egyptians, is 
perhaps the largest image ever worshiped. The body measures 
one hundred and forty feet long, not including the fore paws, 
which extended about fifty feet in front, and between which 
stood the altar, from which the smoke of incense went up into 
its huge nostrils. The head, including the helmet, is one hun- 
dred and two feet in circumference, and the body, just back of 
the neck, forty feet in diameter. It is all cut out of one block 
of stone, in situ, being a portion of the native limestone rock 
that here crops out of the desert. 

The features are purely Egyptian, and the red paint can still 
be seen upon the face and neck. "What events have transpired 
under those sightless eyes which look out so pensively and wist- 
fully, as if they had some great secret to reveal ! Ah, could 
those thick lips speak, what volumes they would relate ! What 
mysteries they would unravel ! "What a flood of light they 
would pour upon the early history of our race ! Alas, they 
are sealed forever! Here this representative of royalty has 
patiently reclined for four thousand years, watching with sleep- 
less vigilance the ashes of the mighty dead reposing beneath 
its gaze. One cannot but feel a degree of re\ erence for this 
monster idol when he considers its great antiquity ; that it has 
witnessed the rise and fall of the greatest empires of earth, is 
older than the pyramids, and yet reclines upon its ?tony couch 
to-day, as it did before a verse in the Bible was written, when 
darkness prevailed over the land, and the Kile, at its base, 
poured down rivers of blood. 



CHAPTER IV. 



MEMPHIS, THE NOPH OF SCRIPTURE. 

Royal City of Osiris— Scene of the Miracles of Moses — Statue of Rameses II. — Ne- 
cropolis of Egypt — Mummy Pits — Victims of Divine Vengeance — Fulfillment 
of Prophecy — Mausoleum of Apis — Grand Temple of Serapis — Tomb of Tih 
— Interesting Sculptures. 

SITUATED on the western bank of the Nile, a few miles 
south of the Pyramids of Ghizeh, is Memphis, the Noph of 
Scripture, founded by Menes, the first recorded King of Egypt, 
and for a thousand years the capital of the old monarchy, and 
the most magnificent city in Egypt. It was here Joseph served 
as governor, and Pharaoh reigned in the days of Moses and 
the patriarchs ; and no doubt some of the buildings whose ruins 
may still be seen in this vicinity were constructed by the He- 
brews during their long bondage. The embankments that once 
protected the city from the inundations of the river have ages 
ago been washed away, and the rich alluvial deposits of twenty 
centuries have well-nigh obliterated the site of this once cele- 
brated place, and a beautiful grove of date-bearing palm-trees 
now wave their long, feathery branches over the tomb of the 
city of Osiris. Scarcely a vestige remains of the grand tem- 
ples that were once the chief glory of Memphis. Some 
blocks of granite, broken columns, mounds of sun-dried brick, 
massive foundations, and a colossal statue of Rameses II. , lying 
with his face in a pool of water, as if bemoaning the departure 
of his glory and the fate of his kingdom, are all that remain 
by which the place can now be identified. 



54 



BIBLE LAXDS. 



This statue, originally about fifty feet high, was one of two 
that stood in front of the great gate-way leading to the grand 
temple of Phtah or Osiris. An amulet is suspended from the 
neck, somewhat like the breastplate of the high-priest among 
the Jews, and the name of Pameses the Great may still be 
seen engraved upon his girdle, and on the scroll which he holds 
in his hand. The face is well preserved, looks youthful, and 
by many is considered beautiful. 

A life-size figure of his daughter is represented standing by 
his side, which possesses additional interest from the fact that 
this is probably the Pharaoh's daughter who adopted Moses ; 
and his son, Menephtah, who succeeded him in the empire, and 
whose statue may be seen in the museum at Cairo, is supposed 
to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus who pursued the Israelites, 
and was destroyed with the Egyptians in the Ped Sea. 

The present condition of Memphis fulfills almost literally 
the predictions of the Jewish prophets concerning her : " I will 
destroy the idols out of Xoph ; . . . the pomp of her strength 
shall cease ; . . . a cloud shall cover her, for N~oph shall be 
waste and desolate, without an inhabitant." 1 

Directly back of these ruins — back of the forest of palm- 
trees — and about four miles back from the river, you strike the 
great Libyan desert and the Necropolis of Memphis. The 
contrast between the green valley of the Nile and the bleak 
African desert is like that of life and death ; making it an ap- 
propriate sepuicher for the myriads that repose beneath its 
shadowing wings. 

This vast cemetery, the oldest and largest in the world, 
extending from the Pyramids of Ghizeh on the north to those 
of Dashur on the south, a distance of perhaps twenty miles, 

»Ezek. xxx, 18-13; Jer. xlvi, 19. 



MUMMY PITS. 



55 



is estimated to contain at least twenty-five million human 
bodies, besides innumerable ibises and embalmed animals. In 
strolling through this metropolis of the dead one is shocked at 
the number of skulls and other human remains that lie bleach- 
ing in the sun ; often the head or feet of a mummy protrud- 
ing from the sand, and the desert around strewn with arms and 
legs, hands and feet, sometimes whole bodies, still wrapped in 
their winding sheets, calling vividly to mind Ezekiel's vision 
of dry bones, for " Behold, there were very many . . . and, 
lo, they were very dry," and continually prompting the in- 
quiry, Can these bones live ? " and the answer, " Lord God, 
thou knowest." 1 




MUMMY CASE. 



We entered several pits that appeared to be the burial-places 
for the lower classes, and found long galleries cut in the lime- 
stone rock that underlies the desert, filled with mummies piled 
one upon another six and eight courses deep, like cord-wood, 
all carefully embalmed, and looking as fresh as if laid but yes- 
terday in their quiet tombs ; and yet these countless thousands 
were the men and women who lived in the days of Abraham 
and Joseph and Moses ! 

We spent hours in going from pit to pit, wandering through 
the courts of death between walls of human mummies, some beau- 
tifully encased, with their arms folded across their breasts, hold- 

1 Ezek. xxxvii, 3. 



56 



BIBLE LAXDS. 



ing sonic little charm or idol in their embrace, just as they were 
laid to rest by loving friends three or four thousand years ago. 
And, what is most revolting, the natives are using these mum- 
mies for fuel, and fertilizing their fields with the dust and ashes 
of their ancestors ! Even stripping them of their winding- 
sheets, and sending cargoes of the linen wrappings to Europe 
and America for the manufacture of paper. Some of the linen 
was of the finest texture, over five hundred threads to each 
inch of warp. 

For scientific purposes we examined many of these remains, 
and to our surprise found them mostly young persons, their 
heads thickly coated with straight black hair, all their teeth 
sound, their bodies well proportioned and of full habit, as if 
they had died suddenly. They also appeared to have been em- 
balmed hastily — simply wrapped in swathing bands and dipped 
in common pitch or bitumen. 

As it was here, or near this, that Moses wrought his miracles 
before Pharaoh, and as this was the Necropolis for all Egypt, 
may not some of these be the victims of divine wrath who 
perished on that eventful night, when the destroying angel 
swept through the land, cutting off " the first-born," the flower 
and hope of the family, in every Egyptian household? And 
may not Hosea have reference to this visitation when he says : 
" Egypt shall gather them up ; Memphis shall bury them." 1 
How solemn the reflection ! 

In the center of this Necropolis are the pyramids of Sakara> 
the royal tombs of the Memphite kings, bald with age, and 
looking as old as the sand hills among which they stand. There 
are eleven in the group, the largest of which is curiously built 
in stages or terraces diminishing as they go up, and is claimed 

1 Hosea ix, 6. 



MAUSOLEUM OF APIS. 



57 



to be the most ancient monument in the world, which seems 
plausible, as Memphis signifies the City of the Pyramids, or 
home of the dead, and may have derived its name from this 
venerable ruin. 

Ten minutes' walk over the ridge to the north of this Pyra- 
mid brings you to the Serapeum or Mausoleum of Apis, a most 
remarkable ruin, and until within 
a few years buried to the depth of 
seventy feet beneath the ever-drift- 
ing sands. Apis, or the sacred bull, 
was regarded as the incarnation of 
Osiris, the god of the Xile, and 
greatest divinity in Egypt. Mem- 
phis was the seat of his worship, 
and the Serapeum his place of 
burial Here is a vast temple 
twelve hundred feet long, excavated in the solid rock, over 
which once stood the temple of Serapis, where the sacred 
cubit and other symbols were kept, and funeral services held — 
a still more elegant edifice, now entirely gone, as is also the 
avenue of sphinxes that led up to its grand portal. Open- 
ing out of this subterranean tomb to the right and left, but 
never directly opposite one another, are long rows of large 
vaulted recesses or mortuary chapels hewn also out of the native 
rock, in each of which is a colossal sarcophagus, thirteen feet 
long by eight wide and eleven high, all but the lid cut out of 
a solid block of red, gray, or black granite, polished beautifully. 
An idea of the immense size of these sarcophagi may be had, 
when I state that five of us ascended by a ladder to the top of 
one, the lid of which was partly removed, and then by the aid 
of another ladder we descended into the interior, and could stand 




BIBLE LANDS. 



erect in it and walk about with ease, there being room enough 
for as many more. Some of the sarcophagi bear hieroglyphic 
inscriptions by which their date may be determined, and the 
side walls of the chapels are covered with inscribed tablets or 
ex votos, giving full details of the age, death, and burial of the 
Apis, and the persons present on the occasion. Ten of these 
sarcophagi appear never to have been used ; they are in the 
vaults with their lids lying by their sides, but for some cause 
have never been occupied. Here, in this grand Mausoleum, 
the Apis mummies were deposited ; here they reposed, not in 
regal, but divine, state ; and in the magnificent temple of Ser- 
apis the sacred bull through long centuries was worshiped 
with greater pomp than any other god in Egypt ! 

A little to the north-east of the Serapeum is the Tomb of 
Tih, one of the oldest and best preserved in Egypt, dating back 
to the fifth dynasty of the old empire, at least four thousand 
years, and yet the walls are as plumb and straight as if the 
work of yesterday. Tih was a priest of Memphis, and appears 
to have been a man of great wealth. No description of ours 
can do justice to this beautiful tomb. The whole interior is 
covered with paintings and sculpture in bass-relief, representing 
all the events of note in his life, and all the customs of the old 
Egyptians. In one hall Tih is pictured with his wife and sons, 
overseeing his servants at work on his farm. In the foreground 
cattle are browsing in the meadows, oxen plowing in the fields, 
and others treading out the grain. In the distance may be seen 
the river, with boats sailing, men fishing, and birds of all kinds 
on the water or flying through the air. On another sculpture 
servants may be seen reaping the harvest under the eye of 
their task-masters, others binding up the sheaves, and others 
again gathering them into heaps with three-pronged forks, very 



TOMB OF TTH. 



59 



much after the present style. And in other apartments his 
numerous friends are represented bringing their offerings of 
oxen, fruits, vegetables, and other articles, for the anniversary 
ceremonies in honor of the dead. All the figures are full of 
life, of exquisite workmanship, and the coloring remarkably 
fresh. 

Tih evidently looked upon this life as transitory, and the fu- 
ture as eternal. His farm buildings where he resided, as here 
shown, though elegantly designed and richly decorated, are 
constructed of wood and other perishable materials ; while his 
tomb, which was also built during his life-time, is constructed 
of stone in the most substantial manner, as if designed to 
last forever. It is also a noteworthy fact that all symbolical 
representations of the resurrection of the human body, and the 
life of the soul in the great future, so common on Egyptian 
monuments, are wanting here, and are never found on tombs of 
the old Empire prior to the settlement of the Hebrews in 

Egypt. 

There are many other temples and tombs in this vicinity, but 
they are mostly rendered inaccessible by the sand drifts that 
for so many ages have preserved these works of antiquity. 
Truly " saith the Lord, ... I will make the land of Egypt 
utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto 
the border of Ethiopia." 1 

1 Ezekiel xxix, 8-10. 




EGYPTIAN FUNERAL. 



CHAPTER V. 



THEBES, THE NO-AMON OF THE BIBLE. 

Hundred -gated Thebes — "Without Wall or Gates — Land of the Winged Globe — 
Grand Temples of Karnak and Luxor — Similarity to the Temple of Solomon — 
Egyptian Idols — Historic Sculpture — Medeenet Haboo — The Ramesium — 
Colossal Statue of Rameses II. — The Vocal Memnon — Tombs of the Kings. 

milEBES, the No-Amon of the Bible, long the capital of 
JL Upper Egypt, and rival of Memphis and Nineveh, was 
situated on both banks of the Nile, abont six hundred miles 
from the sea. Its early history is involved in much obscurity, 
there being no reliable records preserved beyond the eight- 
eenth dynasty, B. C. 1500. 

Strabo, Diodorus, and other ancient historians speak in the 
most glowing terms of the wealth, power, and magnificence of 
this city, and Homer has immortalized it as " hundred-gated 
Thebes." The poet must have had reference to the propylse, 
or gates of her numerous temples and palaces, as recent re- 
searches prove conclusively that the city never could have been 
inclosed with walls, that the river was always its principal de- 
fense ; and, what is remarkable, the Scriptures clearly state 
this fact. A correct rendering of the description of this city 
as given by the Prophet Nahum, 1 represents it as situated on 
the river — that is, on the river Nile — there being no other 
river in Egypt — having " the waters round abou,t it," . . . 
"whose ramparts were the sea-like river, and her walls the 
sea-like river." And if the old Grecian bard had consulted 

1 Xahum iii, 8. 



GKRAJSD TEMPLE OF KARNAK. Gl 

the Bible, he probably would not have been guilty of the 
above misnomer. 

A large portion of Thebes was built on an island in the 
midst of the river, and the other portions were surrounded by 




RUINS OF LUXOR. 



deep, wide canals, which may still be traced, so that the place 
literally was " among the rivers," and of great strength. 

About all that remains of this once populous city, east of 
the river, are the world-renowned ruins of her grand temples 
at Ivarnak and Luxor — two modern villages that have sprung 
up under the shadow of these unrivaled edifices. 

The temples of Thebes were stone structures of the most 
massive workmanship, but the city proper was built of sim- 
dried bricks, and, owing to the annual inundations of the Nile, 
has long since crumbled to dust, and is now buried from ten to 
twenty feet beneath the surface of the plain. And we fear 



62 



BIBLE LAxXDS. 




r>5 v v. w v 



"7 



\\\ 



THKBAN SPHINX. 



the same fate awaits her more enduring monuments, as the be»4 
of the river and whole valley of the Lower Nile are gradually 
filling up from the deposits left by each overflow ; and the 
water, saturated with niter, now comes up every season several 
feet in her temples, and is slowly but surely eating away their 
foundations, and in time must utterly destroy the last vestige 
of Egypt's once splendid metropolis. 

The great Temple of Kar- 
nak, dedicated to Amon, the 
Egyptian Jupiter, and presid- 
ing divinity of Thebes, is situ- 
ated about half a mile east of 
the river, and one mile and a 
half north of the temple at 
Luxor, the two having origi- 
nally been connected by an avenue of colossal statues and 
ram-headed sphinxes. 

Any description we might attempt of this, the grandest 
monumental work ever executed by man, must fall so far 
short of the reality that we hesitate even to approach the 
subject. To describe in detail a single column of this edifice 
would fill a volume. And yet no two of the forest of columns- 
that adorn this immense building are alike — the sculpture, 
coloring, and inscriptions on each being different. 

The temple area was a square of about ninety acres, one 
third of which was covered by the buildings of the temple 
proper. Leading to this sacred inclosure were twelve principal 
gates facing the four cardinal points, three upon each side, one 
within the other at regular distances, and connected by colon- 
nades or avenues of sphinxes. These gate-ways to her temples- 
are among the grandest remains in Egypt. They generally 



HALL OF COLUMNS. 



consist of two lofty pyramidal towers of massive masonry, with 
the pylon, or portal, between them. Obelisks and colossal 
statues usually stood on either side of the entrance, and on the 
stone lintel over the pylon, cut in alto-relievo, was always to be 
seen that mysterious symbol of divinity and eternity, a globe 
with two large, outspread wings. May not Isaiah refer to this 
figure when he speaks of " The land shadowing with wings," 1 
which literally means the land of the winged globe ? 




WINGED GLOBE. 



In approaching the Karnak temple from the west, you first- 
ascend a raised platform, passing over which, under the gaze 
of a double row of colossal sphinxes, much mutilated, you 
come to the outer p ropy Ion, an immense gate-way three hun- 
dred and seventy feet front by fifty deep, and one hundred 
and forty feet high, through which you enter a court about 
three hundred feet square, with covered corridors along the 
sides, and the remains of a colonnade down the center. This 
brings you to a second gate-way almost as large as the first, 
guarded by two cyclopean statues of Rameses II. Passing 
this pylon, the lintel of which is one stone over forty feet long, 
you emerge into the grand hall of Sethi I., father of Rameses 
the Great, and supposed to be the Pharaoh Joseph served as 
governor. This, perhaps the grandest hall ever constructed 
by the genius of man, certainly the grandest of all the monu- 
ments in Egypt, is three hundred and twenty-nine feet long by 
one hundred and seventy w T ide, and in the clear-story eighty 

1 Isaiah xviii, 1. 



64 



BIBLE LANDS. 



feet high. The stone ceiling, resting on stone girders, is sup- 
ported by one hundred and thirty-four immense columns, the 
largest sixty-six feet high without the base, and within a few 
inches of thirty-six feet in circumference, the smallest over 
forty-two feet high and twenty-eight feet in circumference, all 
beautifully sculptured, with capitals representing the fall-blown 
lotus and papyrus. The effect when one first enters this gor- 




TEMPLE OP KARXAK. 

geous hall is so bewildering that you involuntarily exclaim, 
\Yonderful ! wonderful ! 

Continuing through the "Hall of Columns," and passing 
another massive gate- way, near which stands a graceful obelisk 
dedicated to Thothmes I., you enter an inner court surrounded 
by a peristyle of twenty-eight giant Osiride pillars, represent- 



EGYPTIAN IDOLS. 



65 



ing Osiris, with arms crossed upon his breast, holding in one 
hand the knotted scourge, and in the other the key of the 
Nile or symbol of life. In this court once stood two red 
granite obelisks ninety-two feet high and eight square — the 
largest in Egypt, if not in the world. One lies broken on the 
pavement, shattered to fragments apparently by lightning ; the 
other still stands erect, as if defying the thunder-bolt that laid 
its comrade in the dust. 

Passing yet another pylon and two smaller obelisks, you 
come to the Sanctuary itself, within which was the " Holy of 
Holies," the abode of Am on. This is the oldest and most 
sacred portion of the temple, belonging to the twelfth 
dynasty, B.C. 2000 ; but owing to its ruinous condition, it 
affords little satisfaction to the visitor. Still beyond this is 
another court, then comes the columnar edifice of Thothmes 
III., the Hall of Ancestors, and many smaller chapels, all fast 
going to decay. But, to form a correct idea of this magnifi- 
cent temple, you must wander through its long colonnades, ex- 
plore its mysterious passages, reconstruct its demolished parts, 
replace its idols, rekindle the fires upon its altars, re-people its 
courts with thousands of devout worshipers, study the religious 
and historic scenes pictured upon its walls, finally, ascend to its 
highest pinnacle and take a bird's-eye view of the whole vast 
structure, and then, but not till then, will you be able to com- 
prehend the magnitude and grandeur of the great Temple of 
Karnak ! "We have been thus particular in describing Karnak, 
because this magnificent edifice was erected when Joseph ruled 
the land ; and as he had charge of all internal improvements, 
Jacob's favorite son may have been the architect of this, the 
grandest temple in the world. 

This main temple was but the center of a system of many 



6G 



BIBLE LANDS. 



smaller ones, dedicated to different divinities. In one of them 
we found the image of a colossal hawk, the symbol of Amom 
and of Ha, the physical snn. The reigning king was con- 
sidered the snn of Egypt, and regarded as the offspring of the 
sun, and hence was caUed Pharaoh, from "Phra," the sun. 
In another large temple the only idols fonnd were about fifty 
cats; and in another, the floor of which was alabaster, we found 
nothing but a huge monkey in black basalt, or, as Darwin would 
say, man in one of his early stages of development. Unfor- 
tunately, however, for this development theory, all the speci- 
mens of the early Egyptians thus far discovered show a much 
more perfect and better-developed race than the present gen- 
eration — that they are physically degenerating rather than pro- 
gressing, and without the aid of divine grace are more likely 
to retrograde to monkeys with tails than ever to advance to 
angels with wings by any mere process of evolution, though 
continued through countless ages. 

And is it not unaccountably strange that a people capable of 
building such wonderful and enduring monuments should be 
so superstitious and degraded as to worship such deities as 
birds, cats, monkeys, and the like? 

As Strabo observed, Thebes had many temples, but we omit 
details, as there was a great similarity in Egyptian temples. 
There was also a striking resemblance in them to the Temple 
of Solomon. 

They all had their sanctum sanctorum, or most holy place, 
the abode of the deity to whom the temple was dedicated, and 
into which not even the high priest was allowed to enter. 
This was located in the center or at one end of the sanctuary, 
which was overhung with rich white drapery, like the taber- 
nacle of the Jews. In this sanctuary stood the altar of incen«<\ 



KARNAK COMPARED WITH SOLOMON'S TEMPLE. 67 

where the priests officiated, and here was kept the sacred ark 
containing the golden sistrum, or emblem of the deity. This 
building, which stood alone, was surrounded by many small 
chapels, dedicated to different gods, and used for different pur- 
poses. Then came the outer courts, halls, and other temples, 
the votive offerings of successive kings through many gen- 
erations, in acknowledgment of mercies received, victories 
achieved, or some great event in their reign ; the whole being 
inclosed with strong high walls. One peculiar feature of 
Egyptian temples is, the largest and grandest halls are the 
farthest removed from the sanctuary, as each successive Pha- 
raoh endeavored to outrival his predecessors. 

These temples are all profusely decorated ; the ceilings are 
often of azure blue, studded with golden stars ; and every wall 
and column, architrave and frieze, statue and obelisk, covered 
with pictorial representations in sculpt- 
ure or painting of every important 
event in the history of their nation or 
career of their kings. So we have 
here the history of the oldest nation 
in the world, beautifully preserved in 
bass-reliefs and hieroglyphics, so legi- 
bly written that both the learned and 
illiterate can read it without difficulty. 

Among the many beautiful historic 
scenes here presented is one on the 
outer wall of the grand hall, repre- 
senting the conquest of Palestine by 
Shishonk L, the Shishak of Scripture, 
who, after taking Jerusalem and plun- 
dering the temple, returns with great 




68 



BIBLE LANDS. 



treasures and many prisoners ; among them, with a rope round 
his neck and liis arms lashed behind, may be seen Rehoboam, 
King of Judah, the son and successor of Solomon. The name 
of Judah Malek on the shield, and the purely Jewish features 
of the prisoners, especially their beards, indicate clearly the 
country and people this sculpture is intended to represent. 

The larger portion of ancient Thebes probably lay east of 
the Nile, and though the name applied equally to both districts, 
that portion west of the river was frequently called " The Lib- 
yan suburb," and was under the special protection of Athor, 
the Egyptian Yenus, to whom the Theban Necropolis — where 
it was fancied she received the setting sun in her embrace — 
was dedicated. 

At the base of the Libyan range of mountains, west of the 
river, and about three miles west of Luxor, stands the temple 
Medeenet Haboo — the most ancient and splendid on that side 
of the river, and second only to Karnak. Much of it is in 
ruins; but enough remains to show its dimensions, and the 
artistic skill displayed in its workmanship. 

This temple dates back to Queen Hatasoo, daughter of Thoth- 
mes I., who erected it and the two large obelisks at Karnak in 
honor of her father. This princess is supposed by many to be 
the Pharaoh's daughter who adopted Moses, and would have 
made him her successor to the throne had he not refused to be 
called her son; but in the sculptures she never appears in 
female attire, as women probably were not allowed to reign 
in Egypt, and her sex can only be determined by the feminine 
form of speech in her ovals. It also appears that her brother 
and successor, Thothmes IL, in most instances erased the name 
of his sister from her cartouches, and substituted his own. The 
fraud, however, may be easily detected, as her name on some of 



TEMPLE OF MEDEENET HABOO. 



71 



the shields can still be traced, and on the Pharaonic square of 
others, where the name of Thothmes II. lias been inserted on 
the oval, may be read, " She built this temple," etc. Nothing 
could be more elaborate or beautiful than some of the scenes 
here pictured, and the preservation of the coloring after so 
many centuries is truly wonderful. This is partly owing to 
the following circumstance : "When Theodosius, Bishop of 
Alexandria, in his pious but mistaken zeal, issued his cele- 
brated edict, A. D. 391, for the suppression of idolatry through- 
out Egypt, and ordered the temples to be divested of every 
vestige of idolatrous worship, many works of art were de- 
stroyed, and it is painful to see how, with pick and chisel, 
many of these beautiful temples have been defaced. Here, 
however, the bass-reliefs were so deeply cut in the hard granite, 
that instead of erasing the sculptures they merely plastered them 
over. This temple was afterward converted into a Christian 
church, as the frescoing clearly proves, and occasionally very 
ludicrous scenes are met with where the stucco has partly 
fallen off. In one of the halls where this plastering has scaled 
off may be seen a long procession of priests and princes, with 
Eameses III. at their head, presenting their offerings and 
burning incense before Athor, under the symbol of a cow ; 
and just above, where the frescoing still adheres to the wall, 
may be seen St. Peter with the keys and crosier, raising his 
hand as if in the act of pronouncing a benediction on the pagan 
worshipers. 

From some battle scenes here represented it would appear 
that among the old Egyptians the barbarous practice prevailed 
of cutting out the tongues of the enemy slain, and disabling 
the captured by cutting off their right hands. In one picture, 
three thousand five hundred and thirty-five tongues and three 



72 



BIBLE LANDS. 



thousand hands are presented as so many trophies, for which 
the king is rewarding the victors. Several other larger heaps 
of hands and tongues remain to be counted, which the scribes 
are carefully doing one by one in presence of his majesty 
and generals ; the captive chiefs standing by witnessing the 
performance. In another place the king is represented as 
trampling the slain beneath his feet, and putting out the 
eyes of the captured, or dragging them behind his chariot. 

Some of the domestic and social scenes here pictured are no 
less interesting; and any one observing their style of dress, 
table-ware, musical instruments, and the furniture of their 




dwellings, will see that this ancient people enjoyed a higher 
state of civilization than is generally conceded them. The 
ladies appear in gloves, with flowing flounces on their dresses, 
carrying fans and parasols of ostrich feathers ; some wearing 
fancy head-dresses, others bracelets and necklaces of gold and 
precious stones, in the very latest style of jewelry worn in Paris 
and New York. In their private apartments may be seen rich 
sofas and chairs, vases of porcelain and glass, vessels of gold, 
silver, and bronze, in design equal to any thing modern. The 
finest devices found among Grecian remains may be seen here 

1 The inscription on the vase is the narne of Menephta, the Pharaoh of the Exodus. 



COLOSSAL STATUE. 



73 




on monuments of the earliest period, and were evidently bor- 
rowed by the Greeks from the Egyptians. 

In some respects the most important feature of this temple, 
and of other ruins in the vicinity, is the 
use of the arch ; the origin of which has so 
long been a matter of dispute, but is gener- 
ally conceded to the Romans. Some cav- 
ilers have questioned the antiquity of cer- 
BRICK - tain ruins in Palestine on account of the 

arch being found among the remains ; but we find here stone 
and brick arches, pointed and circular, dating back at least a 
thousand years before Rome was founded, and there can be no 
doubt as to their age, as every brick bears the stamp and name 
of the Pharaoh during whose reign it was made. Mr. Layard 
also, in his explorations at Nimroud, discovered the arch, and 
arched gate-ways are frequently seen on the oldest Assyrian bass- 
reliefs, so that the arches under the temple site at Jerusalem 
are no argument against the antiquity of those remains. 

Among the tombs on the edge of the desert, and about one 
mile north of Medeenet Haboo, stands the Ramesium, or tem- 
ple of Rameses II., the unrivaled Memnomium of Strabo. 

In point of architectural symmetry and elegance of design 
this temple equals any other in Egypt. But many of its beau- 
tiful columns are gone, the rich coloring on the walls is fast 
fading out, and its grand propylon is nothing but a heap of 
rubbish. 

The celebrity of this temple or tomb of Rameses II. was chiefly 
owing to the colossal statue that once stood in the outer court 
on the left of the main entrance. This enormous statue — the 
largest in Egypt — was a monolith of syenite granite gracefully 
proportioned, and is supposed to have weighed in its rough state 



74 



BIBLE LANDS. 



not less than one thousand tons. It was erected about B. C. 
1320, and designed to represent Rameses the Great seated on 
his throne in a quiet, easy attitude, as if resting from his con- 
quests and enjoying the peace his arms had won. The statue 
measured twenty-two feet four inches across the shoulders, and 
when entire must have been at least seventy-five feet high. 
But some powerful hand has hurled it from its throne, and now 




THE RAMESIUM. 



it lies broken on the ground, its fragments scattered in every 
direction. Portions of it are in almost every museum of Europe. 

In looking upon these gigantic remains one cannot but won- 
der how, without the aid of machinery unknown to us, such a 
ponderous body could be transported over land such a' distance ; 
and how it was ever raised on its pedestal after leaving the 
sculptor's hands. But to me the greater wonder is, how, before 
the discovery of gunpowder, such a solid mass of such hard 



COLOSSAL STATUE. 



75 



material could be broken into so many pieces without the mark 
of any instrument being left upon its jDolished surface. Some 
think it was done by the Persians ; there is nothing, however, 
to indicate it. Others attribute its destruction to an earthquake, 
but the base on which it rested is still in situ, and furnishes no 
evidence of ever having been disturbed. The fragments of 
this colossus lying around bear some marks of having been 




THE COLOSSI. 



scathed by lightning, and as storms accompanied by vivid light- 
ning are frequent in this region, and granite almost a non-con- 
ductor, is it not more than probable that this great statue of 
Egypt's greatest king was destroyed by a thunder-bolt from 
heaven ? 

The prophecies concerning this city, the " No " of Scripture, 
seem to imply some such visitation. " Thus saith the Lord 



76 



BIBLE LANDS. 



God, I will also destroy the idols, . . . and will execute judg- 
ments in No. . . . No shall be rent asunder." 1 

Towering above the green plain, about ten minutes' walk 
directly east of the Ramesium, sitting pensively on their crum- 
bling thrones as if grieving over their departed glory, are the 
renowned Colossi of Amunoph III., the only two that survive a 
long avenue of similar statues that once guarded the approach 
to the grand temple in their rear. They originally were 
monoliths, but are now much broken and weather-beaten, look- 
ing like old men who have outlived their generation and are 
quietly awaiting their departure. 

That a correct idea may be had of the immense size of these 
statues, we give the dimension of certain parts : across the 
shoulders, eighteen feet three inches ; the leg, from the knee 
to the sole of the foot, nineteen feet eight inches ; the foot 
itself, ten feet six inches long ; and the arm, from the top of 
the shoulder to the tip of the lingers, thirty-four feet three 
inches. The whole height, including the pedestal, is about 
seventy feet. Amunoph is represented in a sitting posture, 
his wife and mother standing on either side of the throne. 
The latter statues, though eighteen feet high, look very small 
by the side of the central figure — not reaching to the knees. 

The statues stand about fifty feet apart, facing the east, and 
the one on the north is the famous Yocal Statue of Memnon, 
which was said to greet his mother Aurora every morning at 
sunrise with a song of praise. It is now much defaced and in 
no musical mood ; at least, we waited long in vain for some 
soul-stirring strain, forgetting that it only gratified the curiosity 
of distinguished visitors, and such only at sunrise — an hour we 
are not often guilty of disturbing. 

1 Ezekiel xxx, 1 3-1 C. 



THE VOCAL STATUE OF MEMNON. 



77 



If the statue ever emitted any musical sounds, they were 
probably produced by fine wires, invisible from the ground, 
stretched across the lap from hand to hand. This simple 
arrangement would produce the effect, and we know the 
Egyptians of that period had in use stringed instruments con- 
structed on this principle, and must have been familiar with 
the ^Eolian harp. 




TOMBS OP THE KINGS. 



All the temples west of the river were located on the edge 
of the desert, above the inundations, and at the base of the 
Libyan range. Here, as at Memphis, the whole desert for 
miles around is one vast necropolis, where embalmed millions 
wait in silence the voice divine that shall call them to life 
again. 

High up on the mountain side, back of these mummy pits, 



78 



BIBLE LANDS. 



at the head of a wild, deep, tortuous valley, far removed from 
the fertile plain and all signs of life, under the shadow of 
over-hanging rocks and the everlasting hills, are the tombs of 
the kings of Egypt. 

They are all hewn out of the natural rock, some of them 
penetrating the mountain to a great depth, containing numer- 
ous apartments, beautifully decorated with sculptures and paint- 
ings, delineating the life of the occupant, the coloring looking 
as bright as the day it was put on. 

There is no great difficulty in finding the outer entrance 
to these tombs, but it is next to impossible to discover the 
vault that contains the mummy. These old Pharaohs seem 
to have had a dread of being disturbed in their sleep of death. 
All their ingenuity has been exhausted in efforts to conceal 
their place of sepulture. No lock could be more complicated 
than the entrance to some of these vaults. But we must forego 
any further description of these tombs of royalty. "What 
pomp and wealth, what power and glory, lie buried here I 
Truly, " the fashion of this world passeth away." 

Thebes was first taken by the Babylonians, afterward by the 
Persians under Cambyses, B.C. 525, who destroyed or muti- 
lated many of her monuments. Still later it was conquered by 
Alexander the Great, and finally, after a three years' siege, 
almost totally destroyed by Ptolemy Lathyrus, B.C. 81. 

It was this last invasion, followed by the removal of the 
seat of government, first to Bubastis and then to Alexandria, 
that dealt the death-blow to the capital of Upper Egypt, and 
left these grand temples of her gods to be polluted by the 
numerous bats, jackals, and hyenas, that now nightly hold 
'vigils in their courts. 



f 




CHAPTER VI. 



ISLAND OF PHIL.E LAST SEAT OF IDOL ATE Y LN" EGYPT. 

Assouan — Granite Quarries of Syene — Mode of moving large Stones — Cataracts of 
the Nile — Ancient Ethiopia — Island of Philse — Last Seat of Idolatry — Curi- 
ous Sculptures — Aboo Simbel — Fulfillment of Prophecy. 

ASSOUAN, the frontier city of Egypt, situated at the foot 
of the First Cataract, eight hundred miles above Alex- 
andria, will conclude our sketches on the land of the Pharaohs. 
This is quite a trading-post with the interior, and large quanti- 
ties of dates, ivory, ostrich feathers, gum arabic, ebony clubs — 
and we suspect slaves — are brought across the desert, or down 
the Nile, and reshipped here for Cairo and other points below. 
The Khedive is building a railroad from here to Kkartoom, in 
the Soodan, at the junction of the Blue and White Nile, which 
will greatly increase the trade of Assouan. To see the cars 
and hear the shrill whistle of the locomotive off in this remote 
corner of the earth impresses one with the march of civiliza- 
tion, and makes him feel really homesick. The railroad from 
Cairo up the river is now within three hundred and fifty .miles 
of here ; so in a few years we can penetrate Africa by steam. 

Directly opposite here is the beautiful island of Elephantine, 
covered with crumbling ruins, among them the Nilometer 
mentioned by Strabo — the oldest of which any traces remain. 
Back of Assouan about one mile, you come to the granite 
quarries of Syene, that furnished the material for all the .eno-r-, 
mous statues and Obelisks we find in : Egypt. " One huge block 

ninety-five feet long by eleven ^qmre, partly dressed, from. 
6 



82 



BIBLE LAKDS. 



some cause still lies in the quarry, never having been removed, 
and is not likely soon to be disturbed. 

A wide, solid road-bed was constructed from the quarries to 
the river, about one mile, over which these ponderous blocks 
of granite were moved on sledges or skids with rollers placed 
beneath them, by direct physical force, thousands of slaves being 
employed in moving a single stone. Portions of this roadway 
may still be seen, and the whole process truthfully represented 
in their sculptures, even to the overseers directing the work. 

The brilliancy of the stars in the clear atmosphere and cloud- 
less sky of this region is truly wonderful. Yenus, as the morn- 
ing star, appears like a miniature sun, emitting almost light 
enough to read by ; and the Southern Cross — at least to one who 
never saw it before — is simply magnificent. The Cataracts of 
the jSTile are nothing more than a succession of rapids, where 
the river forces its way through innumerable rocks and small 
islands that obstruct its passage. The greatest descent in any 
one of the rapids at the First Cataract is from six to eight feet 
in perhaps two hundred yards. There must have been at one 
time, either here or at Silsilis, forty miles below, a much greater 
fall, as the water-line and alluvial deposits along the shore, thirty 
to forty feet above the highest inundations of late years, clearly 
prove. The probability is, the rocky ledge crossing the river 
at this point or below has been swept away, and the whole up- 
per valley of the Nile lowered to its present level. 

This is now, and always has been, the southern boundary of 
Egypt proper. True, some of the Pharaohs extended their 
dominions far south of this, but were never able to hold the 
country, and in turn some of the Ethiopian kings invaded and 
conquered Upper Egypt; but the "tower of Syene," 1 that 

1 Ezekiel xxix, 10. 



ANCIENT ETHIOPIA. 



83 



forms a part of the granite barrier through which the Nile 
here forces its way, is now, as in the days of Ezekiel, the nat- 
ural border of Egypt. 

All the territory south of this for a thousand miles is known 
as Nubia, the Ethiopia of the Scriptures, or the " country of 
the Cushites ; " the inhabitants, as the name signifies, being 
black or of a dark complexion. Egypt is repeatedly called in 
Scripture " the land of Ham," but the other sons of Noah are 
not mentioned in connection with any particular portion of the 
earth. 

Four of the sons of Ham are also named as the progenitors 
of four great nations : Mizraim, and probably his father, settled 
in Egypt ; Cush, to the south, in Ethiopia — the Greek name 
for Cush ; Phut, in Libya, to the west of Egypt, from whom 
the Libyans and Moors descended ; and Canaan, on the east 
and north, in Syria and Palestine. And, what is singular in this 
connection, we find all these names, or names very similar, in 
the hieroglyphics on many of the monuments of Egypt. And 
may not the groups of four different complexioned people, red, 
brown, black, and white, representing the four great divisions of 
the human race, found in several of the " tombs of the kings " at 
Thebes, refer to these four sons of Ham and their descendants ? 

The scenery in the neighborhood of the Lower Cataract is 
very fine. The towering cliffs on either hand appear like em- 
battled fortresses commanding the river at every point, and the 
great blocks of red and black granite that line the shores, and 
rise out of the water in every fantastic shape, look like so many 
giants stationed here to guard this gate-way to the interior of 
Africa. Many of these rocks are covered with hieroglyphics 
and tablets of great historical value. The old Egyptians ap- 
pear to have left their mark every-where they went, and made 



84 



BIBLE LANDS. 



a written record of almost every event that transpired. Their 
temples and tombs are covered with inscriptions. Every brick 
bears the name of the Pharaoh under whose reign it was made ; 
and upon every charm, bracelet, and ring, you will find some de- 
vice. In their campaigns the name of every soldier is written 
down, the cost of the war, the amount of booty in gold, horses 




and chariots captured, with the number of the enemy slain, 
and prisoners taken. In their sculpture scribes may be seen in 
the market-place noting down the articles sold, and on the farm 
taking an account of all the products, down to the number of 
eggs, laid by each hen. So, here upon these tablets, we not 
only have an account of the military .expeditions to the Soodan, 
three thousand five hundred ' years ago, but of the Pharaohs 



ISLAND OF PIIILiE. 



85 



who worked these quarries, and where almost every stone was 
taken to, and for what purpose applied. 

At the head of the rapids, six miles above Assouan, is the 
^mall picturesque island of Philse, with extensive ruins of a 
eemple dedicated to Isis, but of comparatively modern date. 
And it is an important fact that in point of age the higher you 
ascend the Nile the more modern the remains, showing clearly 
that Egyptian civilization began in the Delta, and gradually ex- 
tended upward, or to the south. Some of the ruins here, and 
those at Meroe, the highest up the river, belong to the Chris- 
tian era. 

This island was considered very sacred by the early Egyptians 
as one of the traditional burial-places of Osiris, their principal 
deity. It was believed that no bird would fly over it, nor fish 
swim near it ; and no one was allowed to approach it except 
when the priest came to crown the reputed tomb of Osiris, 
whose very name was held so sacredly that only the priests 
were permitted to utter it. 

Though there is nothing grand about the ruins at Philae, the 
effect of " Pharaoh's Bed," and the long colonnade and lofty 
propylon as you approach the place by water, is very fine. The 
•temple itself is neither large nor symmetrical ; but some of the 
tablets and subjects delineated in the sculptures are both inter- 
esting and curious. On one of the outer chapels is either the 
original or a copy of the inscription found on the famous 
Rosetta stone. Here, however, the Greek text is wanting, 
which would indicate that it is earlier than the one found at the 
mouth of the Nile by the French. In one of the courts we 
have Julius Caesar worshiping Isis, and in another his corona- 
tion by that goddess, beautifully executed and richly colored, 
showing that the conquerors and foreign rulers of Egypt did 



86 



BIBLE LAKDS. 



not attempt to abolish licr religious institutions. Hence, we 
find the language and worship of the ancient Egyptians retained 
by the Greeks and Romans, and the names of Alexander and 
the Ptolemies and Caesars inscribed in hieroglyphics on the 
temples here and elsewhere. 

Among other curious sculptures in one of the chapels con- 
nected with this temple, we have a scene of the last judgment. 
Osiris, the judge of the dead, is represented seated on his 
throne ; Thoth, the recording angel, stands near him with a 
tablet in his hands, on which all the deeds of the deceased are 
recorded ; Horns weighs every action in the scales of justice and 




THE LAST JUDGMENT. 



truth ; and as the souls are ushered into Amenti — the region of 
departed spirits — the judge passes sentence upon them, and 
they are either admitted into the palace of Osiris, their state 
of blessedness, or changed into some bird or beast, generally 
into pigs, and sent back into this world to ''root, hog, or die." 
This seems to have been their idea of our probationary state, 
the very doctrine of a second probation now being revived and 
taught by some new-light divines, which is nothing m,ore than 
a rehash of the mummied theology of the old Egyptians, served 
up by sensational preachers as a dainty dish for enlightened 
American audiences. 



CURIOUS SCULPTURE. 



87 



It would appear from this, that the old Egyptians had some 
vague idea of a future state ; but it was not the " life and im- 
mortality brought to light through the Gospel." They be- 
lieved in the doctrine of transmigration — that when the soul 
left the body it entered some bird or animal, and, after passing 
through different stages of reward or punishment, finally re- 
sumed the human form. 

But the most curious sculpture about this whole temple is 
in a little chapel on the terrace at the head of the staircase, 
where Osiris is represented in his mysterious character as the 
manifestation of divinity in the flesh appearing on earth for 
the benefit of mankind, but is opposed in his mission and 
finally put to death by Typhon, the evil genius of Egypt. 
Osiris is afterward restored to life, destroys Typhon, and be- 
comes judge of the dead and king of Hades. The dead must 
all appear before his judgment-seat, where they are either 
absolved from sin and enter a state of felicity, or are driven 
from his presence as brutes. 

There is a singular analogy here to the office and mission of 
Christ, and many have been puzzled to know how the Egyp- 
tians obtained these ideas of the Saviour's incarnation and 
.office. To me the case is very plain. Christianity was early 
introduced into Egypt. It extended rapidly up the Nile, and 
in the fourth century became the established religion of Egypt. 
Philse was the last seat of idolatry in the Roman Empire, and 
from an ex-voto in this very chapel we learn that Isis and 
Osiris were worshiped here as late as A. D. 453, over a cent- 
ury after idolatry had been abolished in Egypt by an imperial 
decree. And is it not more than probable that the Egyptian 
idolaters, in their intercourse with Christians during this 
period, obtained some correct ideas of the twofold character 



88 



BIBLE LANDS. 



of Christ ? And how very natural for them, as they saw their 
own religion dying out, to appropriate to their favorite deity 
some of the attributes of the Christian's Messiah. 

If this was one of their oldest temples, and these sculpt- 
ures belonged to a period before the Exodus, then we could 
only account for these illustrations by some special revelation 
foreshadowing the coming of Christ. But being compara- 
tively a modern temple, and these sculptures belonging proba- 
bly to the third or fourth centuries of our era, we find no 
difficulty in accounting for their appearance here. 

There is nothing of special interest above Philse until you 
reach the great rock-hewn temple of Aboo-Simbel, at the en- 
trance of which sit the finely proportioned colossal figures of 
Rameses II., among the largest and decidedly the most beauti- 
ful of all the colossi in Egypt. As in all the other temples, 
we find here some valuable historical tablets and highly fin- 
ished sculptures, but being excavated in the mountain side, and 
the entrance half choked up with sand, nothing can be seen 
without the aid of candles or torches, the smoke from which 
gives the place rather a gloomy appearance. 

The present condition of Egypt strikingly fulfills the prophe- 
cies concerning her, and, what is remarkable, the ruin of this 
nation was brought about, as foretold, by internal dissensions : 
" I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians : and they 
shall fight every one against his brother, . . . city against city, 
and kingdom against kingdom ; . . . and I will . . . give [them] 
over into the hands of a cruel lord : and a fierce king shall rule 
over them, saith the Lord." " It shall be the basest of the king- 
doms ; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations : 
... and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt * 

1 Isaiah xix, 2 ; Ezekiel xxix, 15 ; xxx, 13. 



FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY. 



89 



And more remarkable still, is the fulfillment of the prophecy 
touching the reeds that once abounded along her water-courses, 
the papyrus being now unknown in Egypt : " The reeds and 
flags shall wither . . . the paper-reeds by the brooks . . . shall 
wither , . . and be no more." 1 

Thus, in the literal fulfillment of these predictions, as well 
as in the harmony of biblical and Egyptian chronology, and in 
the perfect agreement between the narratives of Scripture and 
the arts and productions, manners and social life, of this ancient 
people, we have beautifully set forth the truth of the inspired 
record, so that they who half a century ago sneered at the 
Bible as a budget of fables, errors, and contradictions, now 
regard it as the infallible word and wisdom of God. 

1 Isaiah xix, 6, 7. 




LAMP AND STAND. 



CHAPTER VII. 



ISRAEL'S DEPARTURE FROM EGYPT PASSAGE OF THE RED 

SEA. 

Deliverance of the Hebrews from Bondage — Traditional Crossing-place — Location 
of Rameses — Their probable Route — Topography of the Country — Significance 
of Names — Safe Passage of the Sea — Destruction of Pharaoh's Army — Wells 
of Moses — Journey through the Wilderness — Petra. 

rpHE Exodus, which terminated the patriarchal dispensation, 



J- and from which we are to date Israel's national career, 
occurred, according to our received chronology, B. C. 1491. 
And the traditional site of their passage of the Red Sea is a 
few miles south of where the new ship canal enters the Gulf 
of Suez. 

The deliverance of the Hebrews from their long and severe 
bondage, and the punishment of the Egyptians by the mi- 
raculous interference of Providence, constitute an important 
epoch in the history of God's people, and add a peculiar inter- 
est to the scene of their wonderful deliverance. Some, who 
would explain away the miracle entirely, contend that they 
crossed the head of the sea, near Suez ; but, having carefully 
examined the whole ground, we are persuaded that the passage 
was effected ten miles south of there — from Has Atakah to the 
Wells of Moses. The sea at this point is about eight miles 
wide, and from ten to forty feet deep. The crossing at Suez 
is a shallow ford on the great caravan route to Arabia and 
Syria, less than a mile wide, where there is really no sea to 
divide, and where it would be utterly impossible to engulf 




THEIR PLACE OF RENDEZVOUS. 



91 



an army like Pharaoh's. Or, had Moses made a short detour 
to the left, he could have avoided the sea entirely, and there 
would have been no necessity for any miracle, nor any occasion 
for the consternation that prevailed in the camp of Israel. 

Others think the sea at one time extended much farther 
north than at present, but existing traces of the ancient canal, 




RED SEA. — PROBABLE CROSSING-PLACE BY THE ISRAELITES. 



probably constructed before the exodus, and enlarged by 
JSTecho II. B. C. 650, disprove this theory. Besides, Marah 
could not have been reached on the third day by the northern 
route; and they would have found an abundant supply of 
water at the Wells of Moses the first day after their passage ; 
yet it appears they were three days in coming to water after 
crossing the sea. The only difficulty in settling this ques- 



92 



BIBLE LANDS. 



tion lies in locating Rameses, their starting-point. Robinson, 
Lepsius, and others fix it on the railroad near the desert, 
abont seventy-five miles north-east of Cairo ; but more recent 
discoveries at Tel-el Yahoodeh — " the Mounds of the Jews " — 
twenty miles north of Cairo, and in sight of Heliopolis, are very 
strong arguments in support of Rameses being there. This 
was in " the land of Goshen," and " the very best of the land " 
belonging to Pharaoh, of which Rameses appears to have been 
the capital or treasure city, and where Onias in after years 
built his temple. 

Among the discoveries here made were the remains of a 
magnificent palace, paved with alabaster, the walls of encaustic 
bricks beautifully wrought, many of them bearing hieroglyphic 
inscriptions, and the oval of Rameses II. inlaid with glass. 
Rameses, in a sitting posture, was also found upon the sculpt- 
ures. These, and other ruins of dwellings and villages in the 
neighborhood, clearly of Jewish origin, would indicate that 
this at least was one of the cities of the Hebrews, and more 
likely Rameses than any other place named. 

It is very clear from the narrative that the land of Goshen 
lay east of the Nile, and from the frequent communications be- 
tween Moses and the court of Pharaoh, the rendezvous of the 
Israelites must have been near to Memphis, the capital. From 
Josephus we learn 1 that they took their journey by Latopolis, 
where Babylon in Egypt — now Cairo — was afterward built by 
the Persians. If, then, the ruins we have been describing are 
those of Rameses, the probability is the Hebrews first came to 
Latopolis, where they obtained from the Egyptians the costly 
gifts in gold, silver, and raiment, as a reward for their long 
service, and then journeyed eastward by the direct caravan 

1 Antiquities, ii, 15. 



PROBABLE CROSSINO-PLACE. 



93 



road to Succoth, and next to " Etham, on the edge of the wil- 
derness." 1 From this it appears they did not strike the desert 
until the close of the second day. From Robinson's location 
of Rameses they would have reached it within a few hours. 
Here, on the third day of their exodus, they were commanded 
to " turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth ;" 2 or, more properly, 
return and encamp again in the mouth of the valley, namely, 
Wady Tawarik, " between Migdol and the sea," which would 
be their third camping-place, their next being " over against 
Baal-Zephon, ... by the sea." Baal-Zephon signifies mount- 
ain, or watch-tower, of the north, and must refer to Jebel 
Atakah, the most northerly mountain in Africa, which, in the 
morning sunlight, beams like fire. From this it would seem 
that at first they were going by the usual route from Memphis 
to Gaza and Damascus, round the head of the sea, when the 
Almighty, for the purpose, no doubt, of displaying his power 
in their salvation, directed them to the place where they finally 
crossed. 

The distance through Wady Tawarik from old Cairo is a 
little over fifty miles, and can easily be traveled in three daya, 
though from the pillar of fire going before them " by night " it 
Would appear they traveled day and night. There is a station 
and fountain about one third the way still called by the natives 
the Station of Moses, that would answer very well for Succoth, 
where they pitched their tents at the close of the first day's 
march. Their next encampment was at Etham, about eighteen 
miles from Succoth, which we must be careful not to confound 
with Etham east of the sea. 3 Here God, in the cloudy pillar, 
directed them to retrace their line of march, and changed their 
bourse! ^abruptly to the right ' into Wady- Tawarik, between 

i Exodus xifi^ifl. 1 ^ ' :3 ' j '*Wodus xiv, 2.-?* x 11 ^^uriiBfersVxxiii, 8. 



94 



BIBLE LANDS. 



Migdol, perhaps Atakah, and the sea, with the wilderness of 
Tih in their rear shutting them in, and cutting off their retreat. 

This also accords with Josephus, who says, " That Pharaoh 
followed the Israelites with six hundred chariots, fifty thousand 
horsemen, and two hundred thousand footmen, all armed ; that 
the Egyptians drove them into a narrow place, shutting them 
up between inaccessible precipices ; and that there was on either 
side of them a ridge of impassable mountains terminating at 
the sea." 1 All which agrees with this locality and the in- 
spired account, but is not true of any other point. 

In fact, this is the only route that satisfies all the conditions 
of the narrative, which is further established by the topography 
of the land, and the names of places along this line. Wady el 
Tih, through which they would naturally pass, is still known as 
" The Yalley of Wandering ; " Jebel Gharbun, near Etham, 
where they turned back, signifies the Mountain of Doubt ; Je- 
bel Atakah, that cut off their escape, and where Jehovah inter- 
posed in their behalf, the Mountain of Deliverance ; and even 
the Gulf at this point appears to have derived its name from 
the overthrow of Pharaoh and his host, as Suez literally means 
Destruction. 

In determining this question it should be remembered that 
the event is every-where referred to in the Scriptures as a mi- 
raculous deliverance ; that the narrative expressly states that 
the path of the Israelites was " through the midst — or, more 
literally, the heart — of the sea; " that " the floods stood upright 
as an heap," and "the waters were a wall on their right 
hand and on their left ; " 2 and that " the Egyptians pursued 
them into the midst of the sea," where the Lord destroyed 
them all. " There remained not so much as one of them ; the 

* Antiquities, ii, 15. 5 Exodus xiv, 22, 28. 



PROBABLE CROSSING-PLACE. 



95 



depths covered them, they sank to the bottom as a stone, they 
sank as lead in the mighty waters." 1 All which implies a 
wide, deep sea, and is no way applicable to the narrow, shallow 
ford at Suez, where really there was no sea to divide, no 
mountains to shut the Israelites in, no occasion for any divine 
interposition ; and where it would be impossible to overwhelm 
and destroy an army like Pharaoh's " in the depths of the sea." 
They who would explain away the miracle contend that the 




WELLS OF MOSES. 



wind blew back the waters from the head of the gulf, which 
seems very absurd to one standing upon the spot. " A strong 
east wind" 2 would never drive the water out of the bay of 
Suez, but at Eas Atakah would force the tide back into the 
sea, and aid in opening a passage from east to west, literally 
piling up the waters in " an heap " around Suez. All this ren- 
ders the traditional site the probable crossing-place ; and Ayun 

1 Exodus xiv, 10. 2 Exodus xiv, 21. 



96 



BIBLE LANDS. 



Musa, on the Asiatic side, more than likely the spot where 
Miriam struck her timbrels, and all Israel praised the Lord 
who had triumphed so gloriously in the overthrow of Pharaoh 
and his chariots in the sea. 1 

Ayun Musa, or the Wells of Moses, are simply several fount- 
ains of brackish water bubbling up through the hot sands, sur- 
rounded with a grove of palm, tamarisk, and other trees, form- 
ing a cool oasis in the desert about twelve miles south of Suez, 
and probably marking the first encampment of the Israelites in 
the Wilderness of Shur," east of the Red Sea. 

All travel through the desert is on the camel. This animal 
has g»*eat power of endurance, and will go from six to seven 
days, if necessary, without eating or drinking. Wherever you 
iind the Arab you find the camel, and these children of the 
desert consider it a very beautiful animal. If you want to 
compliment an Arab lady, just tell her she is as beautiful as a 
camel, and you will see her dark skin tinge at once with a blush. 
The camel is purely a domestic beast, not being found in a wild 
state anywhere on the globe. The only difference between the 
dromedary and camel is the difference between a riding-horse 
and a work-horse. The dromedary is the graceful, well-formed 
camel, and is kept only for the saddle. Naturally there are no 
two-humped camels or dromedaries. The elevation on their 
backs is a fatty substance on which they subsist during long 
journeys. In some countries this hump is cut into when they 
are quite young, and by a simple process separated, so that it 
grows into two elevations, being more convenient for the sad- 
dle. The camel is the "ship of the desert," and is used almost 
exclusively for transportation .purposes. . . , . 

The caravans usually start from the Wells of Moses for the 

1 Exodus xv, 1-21. 



CONVENT OF ST. CATHARINE. 



99 



peninsula of Sinai, and in from six to eight days, by way of 
Wady Feiran, yon are at the old Convent of St. Catharine, 
over live thousand feet above the sea, and at the base of Ras 
Sufsafeh, a spur of Jebel Musa, the traditional Mount Sinai, 
which meets all the conditions of the text better than any other 




mZ CONVENT OF ST. CATHAKIXE. 



peak of the Horeb range. The legal mountain towers two 
thousand feet above the convent, and seven thousand four 
hundred and fifty feet above the sea at Tor. 

The plain of Er Rahah, where the Israelites encamped for 
about eleven months, lies to the north of Jebel Musa, and is 
sufficiently large to have accommodated the hosts of Israel, 



100 



BIBLE LANDS. 



and to afford tliem a grand view of that sublime display of 
Jehovah's majesty and power when " He came down in sight 
of all the people," 1 and from the flaming crest of this mount- 
ain — that still bears the marks of having been scathed with 
lightning — delivered his own law, containing the moral code of 
the universe, to his own chosen Israel. 




INSCRIBED ROCKS AVADY MUKATTKB. 



The journey from here to Palestine, by the way of Akabah 
and Petra, generally takes from two to three weeks, frequently 
crossing and sometimes following the supposed track of the 
Israelites through the Desert, where their route may be traced 
in places by the ash-beds of their camp-fires, and the inscribed 
rocks that mark their line of march. And we here learn the 
full force of that expression, " They went out into the waste 

1 Exodus xix, 11. 



PETRA. 



101 



howling wilderness." 1 Many rocks crop out of the Desert, 
round which the sand gathers in hillocks, and the wind blow- 
ing among these sand-hills often produces the most mournful 
sounds, sometimes resembling the wailing of mourners for the 
dead, and at other times the howling of a pack of wolves thirst- 
ing for jour blood. 

Akabah, three days' journey from Sinai, is a wretched Arab 
Tillage at the head of the eastern arm of the Red Sea, possess- 
ing no interest whatever, further than marking the route of the 
Israelites in their wanderings, and the site of ancient Ezion- 
Geber, the extreme southern limit of the kingdom of Israel 
under Solomon, and where that king built his fleets, and landed 
his gold from Ophir, three thousand years ago. 2 

An interesting discovery has lately been made by Captain 
Burton, who was sent out two years ago by the ex-Xhedive, 
to explore the country east of the Gulf of Akabah. Landing 
in Arabia, Burton forced his way a few miles into the interior, 
and recovered what he considers the old cities of the Miclian- 
ites, deserted and in ruins. He also found ancient gold mines 
once extensively worked, which he supposes to be the long lost 
mines of Ophir, and during the last year has taken out a 
colony from Egypt to re-occupy these cities and work the old 
gold mines of Solomon. 

Three days hard traveling from Akabah through "Wady Ara- 
bah, twice traversed by the Israelites during the exodus, brings 
us to Petra, the long-lost capital of Arabia Petrsea, or ancient 
Edom, the Idumea of the Greeks — very remarkable ruins — 
nothing like them anywhere. Petra was at first inhabited by 
the Ilorites, or " Dwellers in Caves," and it would appear that its 
inhabitants have always lived in caves ; that after the conquest of 

1 Deuteronomy xxxii, 10. • I Ivings 26-2S. 



102 



BIBLE LANDS. 



the place by the Greeks and Romans, the natural rock dwellings 
of the aborigines were only enlarged and beautified, so that Petra 
has always been what its name imports, " A city in the clefts of 
the rocks," almost every house in it being hewn out of the 




GATE-WAY TO PETRA. 



solid rock— a variegated sandstone in which the crimson, orange, 
blue, and other natural tints blend so richly as to give to the 
palaces, temples, theaters, and tombs, the appearance of being 
beautifully frescoed. 



EL KUZNEH, PETRA. 



PETKA. 



105 



This city is mentioned by Pliny, Strabo, J osephus, and oth- 
ers ; but about the sixth century of our era it disappeared from 
history, and for twelve hundred years its very site was unknown, 
and only within the present century recovered by Burckhardt. 
It is situated in a wild, rugged region, almost inaccessible, with 
many deep ravines, the rocks appearing to have been rent 
asunder by earthquakes, and standing two or three hundred 
feet high, almost perpendicular, and in places not more than ten 
or twenty feet apart, so that the city was surrounded with nat- 
ural walls, strong gates closing the narrow defiles through 
which access only could be had. 

In entering the city by the chasm of the Sik, which is over 
a mile long, you first pass many beautiful tombs with niches 
cut in the face of the cliff for statues and inscribed tablets, then 
under a picturesque arch spanning the ravine, supported by two 
Corinthian columns, called the Gate-way ; when suddenly El 
Kuzneh, the Treasury, rises like a vision before you. The en- 
tire edifice, which is one hundred feet front by one hundred 
and fifty high, (except two columns of the portico, one of 
which has fallen,) is cut out of the rose-tinted rock, looking 
more like an apparition than any thing real. 

This is the gem of Petra's monuments, and yet nothing is 
known of its history or object. It is called the Treasury, from 
a legend that it was built by a certain king as a depository for 
his valuables, and the Arabs believe that the inaccessible urn 
high up on its pediment still contains much gold and many rare 
jewels. 

There are other edifices in Petra much larger than the Treas- 
ury. The amphitheater has an arena one hundred and twenty 
feet in diameter, with thirty-three tiers of seats and many pri- 
vate boxes, capable of seating an audience of three thousand or 



106 



BIBLE LANDS. 



more, all cut out of the living rock. Another monument, 
known as Ed Deir, the Convent, measuring one hundred and 
fifty feet front and two hundred and forty high, its fagade or- 
namented with two rows of eight Corinthian columns one above 
the other, the lower tier of columns fifty feet high and seven 
feet in diameter, is a vast monolith — the entire edifice beino? 
hewn out of one massive block of stone. But no description 
of ours can do justice to these unique remains of a past civili- 
zation. They must be seen to be appreciated. 

In the present desolate condition of Petra we see how liter- 
ally the judgments of God denounced against it have been 
executed. " thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rocks, 
that holdest the height of the hill , though thou shouldst make 
thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from 
thence, saith the Lord. Edom shall be a desolation ; every 
one that goeth by it shall be astonished ; ... no man shall 
abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it." 1 Its 
ancient inhabitants have all been cut off, and so far as known, 
not an Edomite to-day is to be found in all the world. 

Near this Aaron died, and in a rock-hewn tomb covered 
with a welly, on the highest summit of Mount Hor, the brother 
of the great lawgiver sleeps his last long sleep. 2 

The usual route from here to Palestine is across the desert 
to Beer-sheba by way of Ain el "Weibeh, a fountain in Wady 
Jeib, the supposed site of Kadesh-barnea, and is, probably, 
Meribah-Kadesh, where Miriam died, and Moses committed 
the offense for which he was excluded from the land he trav- 
eled so far to possess. 

1 Jer. xlix, 16-18. 8 Num. xx, 28. 



PART II. 

THE LAND OF ISEAEL, 

" In that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed 
have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river 
Euphrates." Gen. xv, 18. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE PROMISED LAND. 

God's Covenant with the Patriarchs— Jacob's Name changed to Israel — Land of 
Israel under Solomon — Primitive Inhabitants of Canaan — Character of the 
Country — Present Condition of Palestine, Moral, Social, Political — Turkish 
Rule — Future Prospects. 

OF Enocli it is said, that lie "walked with God," and of 
Abraham that he was the " friend of God," but of Jacob 
the honorable mention is made, he "prevailed with God," and 
from this circumstance his name was changed to Israel, a name 
by which his descendants have ever since been known. And 
the covenant God first made with Abram before he left ""Ch- 
ef the Chaldees," 1 that he should become "a great nation" in 
whom " all the families of the earth should be blessed," was 
afterward renewed with Jacob when the Almighty appeared to 
him, first at Peniel, then at Bethel, and said unto him, " Thy 
name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy 
name, and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee 
will I give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the 
land." 2 

The twelve sons of this illustrious man were the twelve pa- 
triarchs and progenitors of the twelve tribes of Israel, God's 
chosen people, whose history by many centuries is the oldest, and . 
in fact, the only reliable history of our world and race. Blot 
out Jewish history, and what would we know of the origin of 
man or the world, of God or the future ? 

'Genesis xii, 1. 3 Genesis xxxv, 10-12. 



110 



BIBLE LANDS. 



Under David and Solomon "the land of Israel" became 
one of the largest, most powerful, and wealthy kingdoms of the 
world, extending north and south from Ezion-geber on the Eed 
Sea, " unto the entering in of Hamath " 1 in northern Syria, and 
east and west " from the river of Egypt, unto the great river, 
the river Euphrates," 3 covering an area of two hundred thou- 
sand square miles, equal to some of the largest kingdoms of 
Europe ; and in point of riches and wisdom Solomon is said 
to have surpassed " all the kings of the earth ; " 3 and all 
neighboring nations acknowledged his power, and contributed 
to his wealth by sending him every year costly presents in 
gold, silver, and other articles. So great was his affluence that 
" all his drinking-vessels were of pure gold ; none were silver ; it 
was not any tiling accounted of in the days of Solomon." 4 When 
the Queen of Sheba visited him, and beheld the splendor of 
his court, " there was no more spirit in her," and she exclaimed, 
"The half of thy greatness and wisdom was not told me. 
Blessed be the Lord thy God, who delighteth in thee, to set 
thee on the throne of Israel." 5 After the death of Solomon 
this magnificent kingdom began to decline, and in a few years 
the boundaries of the Holy Land were contracted to the limited 
territory, " from Dan to Beer-sheba." 9 In modern times the 
Land of Promise is better known as Palestine or Palestina, the 
Greek form of Philistine, a once powerful nation who occupied 
the rich plain of Philistia, between the Judean mountains and 
the Mediterranean Sea, and have stamped their name on the 
whole of the land of Israel. 

Palestine was first inhabited by the Hittites, Amorites, Jebu- 
eites, and other Canaanitish tribes, being all descendants of Ca- 

1 Judges iii, 3 ; 1 Kings ix, 26. 2 Genesis xv, 18. 3 2 Chronicles ix, 22, 24. 
4 2 Chronicles ix, 20. 5 1 Kings x, 9. 6 1 Kings iv, 25. 



EARLY INHABITANTS OF PALESTINE. Ill 

naan, son of Ilam, and grandson of Noah, who is supposed to 
have lived and died here. Hence, the country was early called 
the " Land of Canaan," 1 which properly applied only to West- 
ern Palestine, as the nations east of the Jordan were of Semitic 
origin. The first settlements of the Canaanites were in the low 
valley of the Jordan, and on the plains of Philistia and Phoe- 
nicia, "by the sea, as the name signifies dwellers in the low 
lands, or by the sea ; and we are informed that Zidon, the eldest 
son of Canaan, founded the city that bears his name, and was 
father of the Sidonians and Phoenicians. Canaan had ten other 
sons who were heads of as many tribes dwelling in this land, 
so that most if not all of the nations occupying Syria in the 
days of the patriarchs were Canaanites. These tribes, on ac- 
count of their idolatry and great wickedness, were driven out 
or exterminated by the Israelites, who, except at short intervals, 
held the country until David's illustrious successor — our world's 
Redeemer— came and set up his spiritual kingdom, confined to 
no particular land or race, being a kingdom of righteousness 
and peace, and destined to prevail in the earth until all " the 
kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord, and 
of his Christ." 3 

Western Palestine, that is, " from Dan to Beer-sheba," is only- 
about one hundred and fifty miles long, by one third that dis- 
tance wide, and yet this narrow strip of territory, of no partic- 
ular value in itself, is replete with historic and sacred interest. 
Forming, as it does, the key to Western Asia, it has been held 
at different periods by all the great nations of antiquity, and 
may very properly be styled " the battle-field of the world." 
The surface of the country is broken and rocky, the spurs of 
the Lebanon range of mountains extending the entire length of 

1 Genesis xiii, 12. 2 Numbers xiii, 29. 3 Revelation xi, 15. 



112 



BIBLE LA3JDS. 



the land, forming the great divide between the Mediterranean 
on the west, and the Jordan valley on the east. The soil, how- 
ever, is exceedingly rich, and capable of snstaining ten times 
the present population. It is still a country " of corn and oil 
and wine." The olive and vine grow luxuriantly on the lime- 
stone ridges, and the fertile plains of Sharon and Esdraelon, 
under proper cultivation, would still yield a hundred-fold of 
wheat, barley, or other cereals ; and the yield of these prod- 




TEXT-LIEE IX THE HOLT LAUD. 



nets must always have been great, as the numerous ancient oil 
and wine presses cut in the solid rock, and the many threshing- 
floors every-where to be seen, fully attest. 

There are no roads or public conveyances in Palestine proper, 
except between Jaffa and Jerusalem ; so in making the tour of 
the Holy Land you are required to employ a dragoman, who 
will furnish tents, horses, beds, and every thing else necessary 
for the jourrey. And there is something very romantic in 



CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY. 



113 



this tent life. Just fancy the pleasure of traveling over the 
same hills and through the same valleys once trodden by the 
weary feet of God's eternal Son. Camping on Olivet, lunch- 
ing at Jericho, bathing in the Jordan, drinking from Jacob's 
well, sleeping in Nazareth, and then spending a Sunday on 
Carmel, Tabor, or some other mount of equal interest. Could 
any thing be more inspiring ? 

The present population of Palestine is not over four hundred 
thousand, and appears yearly to be diminishing. No new vil- 
ages are springing up, and the old ones are slowly going to de- 
cay. The people, too, are becoming impoverished ; there is less 
wealth among the fellaheen, fewer horses, camels, and stock of 
all kinds, than formerly. Fruit and forest trees are also disap- 
pearing. Carmel was almost stripped of its timber for the 
Suez canal, and as fruit trees are taxed whether they bear or 
not, few are planted. Every thing appears to be finished ; there 
is no progress, no improvement of any kind. 

These evils are in part owing to the frequent incursions of 
the Bedouins, and consequent insecurity of life and property. 
These wild Arabs of the desert are as uncivilized as they 
were three thousand years ago, and the government seems 
.to have no control over them. Within a year they have 
plundered villages and robbed caravans in sight of Jerusalem. 
But this condition of things is mainly due to Turkish rule, or 
rather misrule. The people have no constitutional government, 
no courts of justice, no trials by jury. The Sultan claims to 
own the country and every thing in it. The taxes, which 
amount to from ten to fifty per cent., are not equally assessed, 
but farmed out to the highest bidder, who frequently is some 
merciless agent of the Government. This system of taxation is 

crushing the nation to death, and has brought about the present 

8 



114 



BIBLE LA^'DS. 



wretched condition of Turkey, which is dne almost wholly 
to the rapacity, corruption, and cruelty of the pashas and their 
tax-collectors, who have literally sucked the life-blood out of 
the land. It is no object for the oppressed tillers of the soil 
to raise any thing beyond their immediate wants, as they are 
despoiled of all their surplus crops by these rapacious task- 
masters. 

If half the extortion is true these collectors are charged with r 
they must be worse than the publicans of old. Then, all the 
able-bodied men are pressed into the army, leaving only the aged 
and the women to cultivate the land. These peasant women 
do most of the manual labor, are generally treated as slaves, 
never as the equals of man, and, like all women in the Orient, 
occupy a subordinate position, and have no rights that man is 
bound to respect. They are good field hands, and many of 
them very powerful. During the late war the Russians, having 
captured a Turkish f ortress in which there were many females, 
the Russian officer in command issued an order permitting all 
the women to leave, taking with them any thing they could 
carry. He, however, was greatly surprised when he saw every 
woman march out with a man on her back ! 

In the Ottoman Empire all soldiers are conscripted, and no 
substitutes allowed. It is a singular fact, however, that the 
men who can afford to pay liberal backsheesh are never drafted. 
The law provides that only one out of a family shall be taken, 
but the demand for men is so great they take all old enough to 
serve. The law also exempts an only son and the husband of a 
helpless wife ; no respect, however, is paid to this statute. After 
the conscription they are allowed to return home for a few 
weeks, but should they fail to report for duty at the proper 
time, and can't be found, the next akin — perhaps the father, or 



FOKEIGN CONSULATES. 



115 



an elder brother — is arrested, and held as a hostage till the sol- 
dier is delivered up, who is severely bastinadoed as a deserter. 
You can conceive of nothing more heart-rending than the 
removal of these conscripts from their villages. The friends 
gather round them and sit and weep for hours. The whole vil- 
lage is in mourning, and when finally they are marched off 
their relatives follow them as to the grave. 

On one occasion we witnessed the departure of a regiment 
of these men for the seat of war. It was an affecting scene to 
see them first kiss and then embrace their loved ones. A long 
caravan of camels led the way with the baggage ; then came 
the soldiers on foot, followed by their friends — wives with their 
babes either sitting on their shoulders or slung over their backs, 
and mothers weeping as if their hearts would break. One, 
both aged and blind, was led up that she might touch once more 
her son and only support, and as she laid her wrinkled hand 
upon his face his manly heart gave way, and he wept like a lit- 
tle child. Poor wretches ! well might they weep ! for they serve 
without pay, have nothing to leave for the support of their 
families, and not one in ten will ever return again. 

But the saddest scene was after the soldiers had all left, 
.when the crowd dispersed, and the wives and children, mothers 
and sisters, came back through the gates of the city to their 
desolate homes, with no means to support, no religion to com- 
fort, no Government to protect them. 

Foreigners are not subject to these outrages, and are about 
the only privileged class in the country. Turkey by her treat- 
ies with foreign nations transfers all authority over foreigners 
to their respective consuls. So that a citizen of another coun- 
try, residing in Turkey, is under the exclusive jurisdiction of 
his consul, who alone has power to arrest, try, and punish him ; 



116 



BIBLE LANDfe. 



and all charges against liim must be presented in the consular 
court of his own country, of which the Consul is judge and 
jury. The result is, we have a dozen or more independent 
tribunals representing the leading nations of the world, clothed 
with almost absolute authority, and exercising, in some cases, the 
power of life and death. Each consulate is the head of the 
government it represents, and has its own subjects, courts, offi- 
cers, and prison, and the execution, if not the making, of its own 
laws. The decisions of these different courts are often partial, 
and sometimes conflict with each other, and, there being no 
court of appeals or international court having appellate juris- 
diction in such cases, many questions can never be settled, and 
the guilty often go unpunished ; so that really, with all these 
courts and governors, there is very little justice, and very poor 
government. 

Jerusalem is a city of about thirty thousand inhabitants — 
twenty thousand of whom are Jews, the remainder being about 
equally divided between Mohammedans and Christians. The 
Christian population is made up of Greeks, Latins, Arminians, 
Syrians, Copts, and a few Protestants. With the exception of 
those earnest workers connected with the Protestant missions 
there is very little vital piety among any of them, every thing 
formal, ceremonial, mechanical. The late Right Rev. Bishop 
Gobat, Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, was a liberal, intelligent, 
godly man, and did much for his Master's cause. After spend- 
ing more than half a century in hard missionary work in Abys- 
sinia and Syria, in his eightieth year he resigned his office, and 
with it his life, as within a few months thereafter death closed 
his eventful career. May his mantle fall on some worthy 
Elisha ! 

About the only difference between the Greek and Latin 



THE FUTURE OF PALESTINE. 



117 



Churches is the absence in the former of all images, and then 
the privilege is allowed her priesthood of marrying once. A 
friend of mine, stopping on one occasion with a Greek priest, 
observed him washing the clothes, and doing many other little 
turns the good housewife usually attends to with us, and was 
prompted to inquire of the priest if his wife was sick ? " O, 
no ! " was the reply, " but you know we priests are only al- 




A POLISH JEW. 



lowed one wife, and if I permitted my wife to expose herself 
she might take cold and die ; then what would become of me % 
I could never marry again." Sure enough ; what would become 
of our poor widowers if they could never marry again ? 

"What the future of Palestine is to be under the protectorate 
of England time alone can tell. How far the Sublime Porte 
will carry out the proposed reforms remains to be seen. We 
predict, however, an utter failure, as the great mass of the popu- 



118 



BIBLE LANDS. 



lation are bigoted Mohammedans, who would rather die than 
snbmit to Christian rule. And as to the return of God's scat- 
tered Israel to the Promised Land, we must wait further devel- 
opments. There are now about thirty thousand Jews in all 
Palestine. They are mostly from Poland and Russia, and come 
here not to develop the country, but from religious motives, to 
mourn over the desolation of Zion, and to die, that their bodies 
may sleep with their fathers in holy ground. They are gener- 
ally aged and poor, living on the alms of their people collected 
in Europe and America. It will require a different class of 
immigrants altogether to restore this cursed land to what it 
once was. The latest programme for Palestine is not Jewish, 
but papal occupancy. The Jesuits of Europe are dissatisfied 
with the state of things in Italy, and there is a movement on 
foot to make Jerusalem the head of the Latin Church. Com- 
missioners have been appointed to negotiate for the territory. 
Engineers have surveyed a railroad from Jaffa to Jerusalem. 
Money is being collected for this road, and the erection of a 
magnificent palace for his holiness on Mount Zion, to which 
the wealth of the Vatican is to be transferred ; here the suc- 
cessors to St. Peter are to reign, and the " City of the Great 
King" is to be the future head of the Romish Pontificate. 
Lord Beaconsfield, however, may have something to say in the 
future disposition of Palestine. 



CHAPTER II. 



FROM JAFFA TO JERUSALEM. 

Oldest Sea-port in the World — Difficulty of landing — Oriental Life — Plain of Sha- 
ron — City of the Great King — First impressions — Jews' Wailing-place — Ruin 
and desolation — Interest awakened by the Holy Places. 

JAFFA, or ancient Joppa, the port of Jerusalem, and oldest 
sea-port in the world, the very same from which Jonah 
embarked on his eventful voyage, and where, it is said, Noah 
launched his ark upon the shoreless deep, is one of the most 
dangerous harbors to enter, and, when the weather is stormy, to 
land is almost impossible. 

We had been favored with pleasant weather and a pleasant 
passage over the Mediterranean, and were promising ourselves 
a pleasant landing the next morning at Jaffa, when about mid- 
night, the last night we were out, all at once there arose a 
fearful storm, and as we approached the port in the early mom 
the wind was blowing a gale, and the waves threatened to en- 
gulf the little boats that ventured out to take the passengers 
ashore. Many on board were pilgrims on their way to the 
holy places, and it was frightful to see the poor wretches 
swung out over the sides of the ship by ropes tied round their 
waists, and, after dangling in the air till the proper moment, 
dropped into the boats below, the sea being too rough to land 
them in the usual way. Finally, it came our turn to quit the 
ship. How this was accomplished we shall leave for some one 
else to relate. The great difficulty was in getting into the 
small boat, which one moment would rise level with the 



120 



BIBLE LAXDS. 



steamer's deck, and the next sink with the receding waters 
until lost to view under the sides of the ship. With fear and 
trembling we waited our opportunity, and, as the little boat 
rose on the swell of the sea, made the leap ; it seemed like leap- 
ing into the jaws of death, but a gracious Providence ordered 
it otherwise. Though now safely in the boat, we were still a 
mile from shore. I shall never forget that ride. The storm 
raged with increasing violence. I thought of Jonah's advent- 
ure on this same coast, of Paul's shipwreck in this same sea, 
and of Andromeda chained to the rocks over which the waves 
were now dashing, threatening us with the same fate. One 
billow broke over us, and when my wife exclaimed, " We are 
lost ! we are lost ! " I thought for a moment we were gone. 
Another wave like it would certainly swamp us ; and it is com- 
ing ; we see its foaming crest on our starboard ; it is also seen at 
the same moment by the helmsman. " Hard-a-port ! " he shouts 
to the six swarthy men at the oars. The wave strikes us harm- 
lessly, and, lifting us like a feather on its heaving bosom, bears 
us safely to" the shore. 

Jaif a contains a population of perhaps fifteen thousand, not- 
withstanding it has been destroyed and rebuilt a dozen times. 
The last scene in its bloody history was enacted by Napoleon I. 
in 1T99, when he cruelly put to death its garrison of four 
thousand Albanians, after stipulating, as a condition of sur- 
render, that their lives should be spared ; and then poisoned his 
own soldiers who were too sick to follow him in his retreat from 
Syria, after his repulse at Acre. The site of Simon's house, 
" the tanner " with whom Peter was stopping when he raised 
Tabitha to life, and where he had his vision of the Gospel dis- 
pensation, is still, with good authority, pointed out " by the 
sea-side/' 



JAFFA. 



121 




JAFFA. 



The city, being situated on a commanding bluff, crowned 
with the governor's palace, presents a picturesque appearance 
from the water ; but no sooner do your feet touch the shore 
than all these first impressions are dissipated. The streets are 
crooked, narrow, and filthy ; crowded with camels, donkeys 
and dogs, beggars, lepers, and half-naked Arabs, rendering it 
difficult to pass between them. The moment, however, you 
leaye the city the whole scene is changed. You are now in 



122 



BIBLE LANDS. 



the land of sacred and classic lore, of dreams and legends, of 
sunshine and flowers. And the groves of bananas, oranges and 
pomegranates, inclosed with hedges of blooming cacti ; the veiled 
women reclining under the palm-trees, or strolling among the 
tombs ; and the tnrbaned men, with their long beards and flow- 
ing robes sitting in the city gates, or smoking their nargilehs 
under their " own vine and fig-tree," remind one of patriarchal 
times, and present a scene only to be met with in the East. 

Jerusalem is two thousand six hundred feet above, and thirty- 
five miles east of Jaffa ; and apart from the wretched people 




KLRJATH-J E AR I lu — EM M A U S . 



you meet by the way, some blind, others lame, and all in rags, 
nothing could be more delightful than this ride of ten hours. 
For twenty miles the road lies over the flowery Plain of Sha- 
ron, the country of the old Philistines, and through the very 
corn-fields destroyed by Samson's foxes. We begin ascending 
the Mountains of Judea from the valley of Ajalon, where 
Joshua defeated the five kings of the Amorites. The road 
from here crosses a succession of ridges, from the summits of 



THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. 123 

which we get grand views of the Land of Canaan ; from one 
point in particular, near Emmaus, where Christ revealed him- 
self to two of his disciples on the day of his resurrection, the 
whole plain of Sharon, from Carmel to Askelon, dotted with 
villages, with the blue sea on the distant horizon, may be seen. 
But we have no time to muse on the landscape. The object 
of our journey and our heart's desire lies just beyond the ridge 
before us — the highest of the range. We spur up our jaded 
horses, and soon cross the great mountain barrier between the 
Dead Sea and Mediterranean, when lo ! Jerusalem, all aglow 
in the gleams of a gorgeous sunset, bursts upon our vision, and 
with hearts throbbing with unutterable emotion we ride through 
the " Gates of Zion," and dismount in the " City of God." 

If in visiting the battle-fields of Marathon or Bunker Hill 
one feels inspired with patriotic ardor, is it not a cold philoso- 
phy which would suppress our religious emotions when we 
visit the scene of our Lord's great triumph over death and hell ? 
Such objects of interest as Bethany, Gethsemane and Gol- 
gotha give wings to our faith, and warm the heart with in- 
creased zeal. Though we may not be able to determine the 
precise spot where the events occurred which render sacred 
these places, such is the influence of the name of Jesus, and 
the glory of his personal presence, the whole land seems fra- 
grant with his memory. What hallowed recollections the walls 
and towers of Zion awaken ! What influences have gone out 
from this center ! Toward Calvary the hearts of millions daily 
turn for comfort, and when we have forgotten every other 
event of time, the Cross, with its bleeding, dying Victim, the 
tomb of Joseph, radiant with immortality, and Olivet, flashing 
with the glory of our ascending King, will still be fresh in 
our memories. 



124 



BIBLE LANDS. 



True, visiting these places is not devotion, nor can they 
make ns better or wiser, and yet, as music soothes the soul, and 
the presence of a friend cheers the heart, so the sight of these 
sacred spots fills us with emotions of pleasure we can never 
express. 

"Even the lifeless stone is dear 
For thoughts of Him." 

Alas for our race, if we had to come to the Jordan to be 
baptized, or to Jerusalem to worship ! We rejoice in the pure, 
simple, majestic system of salvation by faith in Christ, stripped 
of all the forms, legends, and superstitious rites that a corrupt 
priesthood would substitute for divine worship. Let us bless 
heaven for the simple truth, the priceless gift of God to man ! 

Why God selected this city before all others for the habita- 
tion of his holiness will, perhaps, never be known ; but so long 
as our race occupies this globe the name of Jerusalem will be 
sacred. It must always be regarded as the capital of Christen- 
dom, the great center of religious interest, and the most memo- 
rable spot on earth. Even they who discard our faith must 
reverence this city for its great antiquity and historic asso 
ciations. Long before Rome, or Athens, or Thebes were 
founded, Jerusalem lifted her towers from the crest of Mount 
Zion. Though dethroned and impoverished, she is still in- 
vested with imperishable dignity. In Solomon's time she was 
"the perfection of beauty," the "joy of the whole earth;" 
great in wealth, powerful in war, and luxurious in peace. Her 
gorgeous Temple — the first ever built with hands for the invisi- ' 
ble Jehovah — and her magnificent palaces were unrivaled. 
When Titus beheld her beauty he felt grieved to mar her 
works of art with the sword and torch. Richard, the lion- 
hearted King of England, counted it honor enough to look 



FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 



127 



upon her battlements from, the top of Scopus. The army of 
Crusaders, after fighting their way to the very portals of the 
Holy City, fell upon their knees, covered their faces with their 
shields, and wept like children, considering themselves unworthy 
even to behold her glory ; and countless thousands of noble 
knights have laid down their lives for the privilege of standing 
within her gates. This reverence for the place continues to 
the present. Jew, Mussulman, and Christian still consider her 
the Queen city, and pilgrims from all lands, in great numbers, 
annually visit her. Many of them come to die, esteeming it a 
privilege to be buried in the soil made sacred by the ashes of 
the Patriarchs and the blood of our world's Eedeemer. 

The first impression on entering the city is one of disappoint- 
ment. There is nothing cheerful about the place ; a mass of 
stone houses of Saracenic style, without windows, courts, gar- 
dens, or any comforts ; narrow, gloomy streets, without drain- 
age, lamps, or sidewalks. On Mount Moriah you see the cres- 
cent elevated above the rock over which the grand temple of 
Solomon once lifted its golden dome. Mount Zion, the site of 
the royal city of David, is now mostly without the walls, and 
used as a cemetery. Ophel, once the most magnificent part of 
the city, is now either " plowed as a field," or overrun with 
weeds and prickly-pear. The valley through which flowed 
" the sweet gliding Kedron " is filled up with loose stones to a 
depth of from forty to fifty feet, and is now entirely dry ; and 
much of the city within the walls is in the same deplorable 
condition — open courts filled with garbage, whole squares de- 
serted or given up to the lepers and dogs, and the entire city 
" trodden down by the Gentiles." But beneath this accumula 
tion of filth, covered with rubbish, lies the " City of the Great 
Xing." Dig down almost anywhere within the old walls, fifty 



128 



BIBLE LANDS. 



or a hundred feet, and you will come upon broken columns, 
grand gate-ways, massive substructures, and other remains of 
a great city — in fact, city over city, house on top of house, 
generation above generation. This buried city is the Jerusa- 
lem of Christ. It was through these subterranean streets that 
the " Man of sorrows " bore the weighty instrument of his 
torture and death to the scene of his crucifixion ; and in the 
present ruined condition of the place we see the literal ful- 
fillment of the prophecy he uttered in reference to this city, 
" There shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall 
not be thrown down." 1 

This rubbish is the accumulation of ages. Jerusalem has 
been destroyed a score of times by war, fire, and earthquakes, 
and when the place was rebuilt the rubbish was not removed, 
but merely leveled off, and a new city built on the ruins of the 
old. 

Then the streets of all Oriental cities are very narrow, and 
the people spend most of their time in the open air, throwing 
all their garbage, ashes, and every thing else into the streets. 
So if we suppose this ofial to accumulate at the rate of but one 
inch in a year, we have in twenty centuries one hundred and 
sixty feet of debris. 

In digging a foundation for a mission school on AEount Zion, 
they, at a depth of twenty feet, came upon a large column 
standing erect, belonging to some ancient edifice, which they 
concluded to use as a corner-stone for the foundation ; and when 
the house was completed, they began digging in the court-yard 
for a cistern, when they struck upon a massive stone tower, 
probably belonging to the same edifice the column did, which 
they thought would answer for a cistern ; but when cleaning it 

1 Matthew xxiv, 2. 



WAILLXG-PLACE OF THE JEWS. 



129 



out before cementing, they found it full of human skulls and 
bones, the skeletons, perhaps, of soldiers who fell in defense of 
their citadel ; and that old tower is the cistern of the mission 
school to-day. 

Those who feel disappointed in the wretched outward ap- 
pearance of Jerusalem forget that according to prophecy the 




THE JEWS' WAIL1NG-PLACE. 



place was to be "laid waste," and become a "heap of rubbish," 
and that, if it presented any other appearance than it does, it 
would lose all interest to the Christian, as it would falsify the 
predictions concerning it. 

Over this waste the Jews are constantly pouring their lamenta- 

9 " . 



130 



BIBLE LAXD>. 



Hons, and nothing could be more touchingly sad than a visit 
their " wailing-place " on the western side of the old temple 
wall, they not being allowed to enter the inclosure of their 
own sanctuary. Here, on the eve of their Sabbath, hundreds 
of the children of Abraham may be seen kissing the cold stones, 
some praying or reading portions of Scripture, and others 
weeping as if their hearts would break over the desolation of 
Zion. 

They come from all lands — are of every age, from youth to 
fourscore years; and this sobbing, sorrowing multitude have 
been coming through a long course of years, century after 
century, ever since the destruction of their temple and city by 
the Romans. What superstition, what devotion, what faith ! 
Among their lamentations maybe heard, " O, may our Father 
in his infinite mercy compassionate his orphans, and gather his 
dispersed children to the holy land ! O Lord, return to thy 
city ! build thine holy oracles, dwell in thine house, and gather 
in thy scattered flock. May it please God, who is mighty in 
works, thus to command." 

And it is so with the whole country. You see nothing but 
ruin and desolation every-where. The people are poor and 
ignorant, the land neglected and barren, and the towns filthy 
and cheerless. Yet many of these insignificant and ruined vil- 
lages possess greater interest to the enlightened Christian than 
the most ancient and renowned cities of the pagan world. 
What is Nineveh, or Babylon, or Thebes, in comparison with 
Bethel, or Bethlehem, or Nazareth ? Many count it a great 
privilege to visit the tomb of Washington, or Napoleon ; how 
much more to visit the tomb of such a man as Abraham, or 
Joseph, or David ! 



CHAPTER III. 



A WALK ABOUT ZION. 

Stroll around the Holy City — Points of Interest — Suggestive of Christ's Parables — 
Identity of the Holy Places — The Enduring Word — Result of Scientific In- 
vestigation. 

city in the world is more sacred in its associations than 
Jerusalem, and none more charming as a place of residence. 
The average summer temperature is from eighty-four to eighty- 
six degrees Fahrenheit, and the winters are equally mild and 
pleasant — birds singing and flowers blooming the year round. 

Fancy for a moment yourself in the City of David ; getting 
up early to see the sun rise over the mountains of Moab ; then 
going down to the tomb of Christ, or up into the " courts of 
the Lord's house " on Moriah, for morning prayers ; or stroll- 
ing along Yia Dolorosa, under the Ecce Homo Arch, by the 
Judgment-hall of Pilate, and out of St. Stephen's gate ; cross- 
ing the Kedron on a little stone bridge, and turning into the 
garden of Gethsemane on your left for meditation; sitting 
down under one of the old olive trees perhaps marking the 
spot of our Lord's agony, and gathering beautiful wild flowers 
from beneath your feet, crimsoned as with his bloody sweat ; 
then, continuing your stroll over Olivet by the Church of the 
Ascension, pausing for a moment to rest on the traditional rock 
where Christ sat when he wept over the doomed city of the Jews, 
and on out to Bethany, visiting the reputed house of Simon the 
leper, and of Mary and Martha, and the tomb of their brother 
Lazarus. Then, returning by the tombs of the prophets, and 




134 



BIBLE LANDS. 




KCCE HOMO ARCH. 

wandering on down the Kedron Yalley to tlie Pool of Siloam, 
bathing your eyes in its limpid waters, that they may never ache 
again ; and sweeping round into the valley of Hinnom ; climb- 
ing up to Aceldama, on the slopes of the Mount of Evil Coun- 
sel, the very " field of blood " purchased with the thirty pieces 
of silver Judas received for the betrayal of his Lord ; and on 
up the steep sides of Zion, to its highest summit ; resting for a 
few minutes in the upper-room where it is said the disciples 
were assembled on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost 
was poured out upon them ; and from thence through the gate 



A WALK ABOUT ZIOlt. 



135 



of Zion, back to your hotel for breakfast by eight o'clock. 
Could any thing be more delighf ul than such a morning walk ? 
You can live more in one year here than in a life-time anywhere 
else in all the world. And, what is remarkable, these places 
never lose their interest. The whole land seems to breathe an 




KEDHON VALLEY. 



inspiration, and every object recalls some event in Scripture, or 
serves to illustrate some of our Lord's narratives or parables. 
The sparrow that chirps in your window recalls the Saviour's 
discourse on a special providence, and you can almost imagine 
you hear him say, " Are ye not of more value than many spar- 
rows?" The lilies that bloom in the valley forcibly remind 



136 



BIBLE LAXDS. 



us of his beautiful lessons of Humility, meekness, and faith. 
And the lepers sitting by the way-side, the fig-tree putting forth 
its leaves, the shepherds watching their flocks, the women 
grinding at the mill, the men praying on the house-top, and 
" tne n J SS0 P tn at springeth out of the walls," all impress us 
with the truthfulness of the inspired record. 




WOMEN GRINDING AT A MILL. 



And is it not refreshing in these latter days, when a class of 
skeptics called men of science are trying to discredit revelation by 
attributing every miracle to natural causes, and treating as mere 
Oriental legends every narrative and divine truth they can't ex- 
plain away by human reasoning, to find some old landmarks 
that fully corroborate the sacred record, and establish beyond 
controversy the credibility of the Scriptures ? 

The Bible was not written as a book of science, but as a rev- 



IDENTITY OF THE HOLY PLACES. 



137 



elation bearing upon man's moral character and destiny. Sci- 
entists should confine their researches to the natural world. It 
is assumption for them to invade the spiritual, and treat as 
" cunningly devised fables " every thing they cannot compre- 
hend. The great truths of religion are to be received by faith, 
and that which is susceptible of demonstration can never be an 
object of faith. " If any man do his will, he shall know of 
the doctrine, whether it be of God." 1 

Many visit the Holy Land with the evident intent of throw- 
ing discredit on every thing sacred. One author writes : " I 
like to feel assured that all these localities are fabulous and 
apocryphal ; " another facetiously remarks in reference to the 
tombs of the patriarchs, "I don't know and don't care where 
they are buried ; " also in speaking of the place of our Saviour's 
birth, death, and resurrection, many, without investigating the 
subject, indulge in the expressions " purely fabulous, unmiti- 
gated fictions," " nothing but lying legends." And yet there 
never has been and never can be one sound argument offered 
against the verity of these places. Not only the Bible, but all 
history, sacred and profane, backed by the traditions of eighteen 
hundred years, and supported by all modern explorations and 
scientific researches fix the location of these events on, or very 
near, the precise spot where they are pointed out. The identity 
of the Coliseum at Rome, or the Parthenon at Athens, cannot 
be more clearly established than that of the temple of Solo- 
mon, the inn of Bethlehem, or the tomb of Christ. 

We greatly deplore that these holy places have fallen into 
the hands of ignorant, unprincipled priests and monks, who 
practice all kinds of deception on the credulous, and abuse 
their office by making merchandise of sacred things. Still, 

1 John vii, 17. 



138 



BIBLE LANDS. 



this does not affect the truth, and Ave are not to reject the real 
because superstition has invested it with ridiculous absurdities 
aud falsehoods. Some argue that our Lord designedly blotted 
out every trace of his presence when on earth, and that the 
world was never to know where the great events of his history 
transpired. But why? We see his foot-prints in creation. 




GETHSEMANE AND OLIVET. 



why not in redemption ? Why tell us where he was born — all 
the circumstances of his life ; the river in which he was bap- 
tized ; the name of the city where he lived : the locality of the 
miracles he wrought : the garden in which he was betrayed ; 
the palace of the high-priest before whom he was arraigned ; 
the king before whom he was tried ; the place where he was 
crucified, and all the particulars of his burial, resurrection, and 



RESULTS OF SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION". 139 



ascension, if no trace of these events was ever afterward to be 
discovered ? 

Dr. Robinson, in bis researches, established it as a rule, " that 
no traditional information was of any authority." Yet many 
•of these traditions are of undoubted antiquity, and must have 
originated in facts. And we hold that the identity of the 
places mentioned in the Scriptures constitute a strong collateral 
argument in support of their authenticity ; that the land should 
be in perfect harmony with the book — the one the exponent 
of the other. 

The Bible gives an unvarnished statement of certain facts, 
covering a period of many centuries, and is particular in giving 
names, dates, location, and all the details of the events as they 
transpired. Now, if these events actually occurred, there 
should be some traces of them left in the topography of the 
country, and in the language, manners, traditions, and social 
condition of the people ; otherwise we would have reason to 
doubt the record, and every inquirer after truth visiting these 
localities should carefully weigh and examine for himself the 
external evidence they furnish in support of the facts. 

What is the result of recent scientific investigation? I am 
happy to say that all researches in Palestine fully agree with 
the facts, and establish beyond doubt the inspired record ; and, 
what is very remarkable, almost every place mentioned in the 
Bible where any great event transpired may still be identified 
by its old Hebrew name in the Arabic form — a most wonderful 
philological argument in support of the record. Lieut. Lynch 
and Captain Warren, in their explorations, have brought to light 
arguments that must forever silence the objections of infidelity. 
The discovery of the Moabite stone in 1868 — the oldest alpha- 
betic inscription known — furnishes a lost chapter in the history 



140 



BIBLE LAjNDS. 



of our race, agreeing exactly with the word of God; and 
the late exploration of the Desert of Tih, or " Wilderness of 
the "Wanderings," by Messrs. Palmer and Drake, has resulted 
not only in tracing out the route of the Israelites, but in locat- 
ing many of their encampments in the desert. 1 Even the old 
Pharaohs of Egypt are coming forth from their dusty tombs 
to bear testimony to the truth of what Moses wrote more than 
three thousand years ago. The Bible is every-where found — 
written on the very rocks, amid the ruins of the past, and in 
the language, customs, and present condition of the country. 
Such biblical names as Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Esau and 
Joseph, prevail all over the East ; and there is scarcely a wild 
Bedouin of the desert but will correctly point out to the trav- 
eler Mount Nebo, Hor, Sinai, and the site of almost every city 
mentioned in the Bible, and relate the principal events connect- 
ed therewith. Names and places rarely change in the Orient, 
and great events are never forgotten. True, the wars, storms, 
and earthquakes of two thousand years have wrought many 
physical, moral, and political changes, but they have not de- 
stroyed the old landmarks. There is also much of the tradi- 
tional and superstitious mingled with the real. Still, the 
mountains and valleys, lakes and rivers, birds and flowers, 
remain much the same, and the inquirer after truth will find 
the Scriptures every-where written on the very face of the 
Holy Land. 

Pacts are stubborn things to resist, and geographical facts 
most stubborn of all ; but there is no conflict here with Reve- 
lation. The plains of Moreh and Mamre, where Abraham 
first pitched his tent and erected his altar in the land of 
Canaan, remain as they were four thousand years ago. The 

1 The Desert of the Exodus, pp. 25, 27. 



KESULTS OF SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION. 141 



descendants of his son, Ishmael, are wild men still, as uncivil- 
ized to-day as they ever were. Machpelah, the resting-place 
of the patriarchs, has never been disturbed, and remains very 
much as when Abraham purchased it from Ephron the Hittite, 
and laid in its vault his beloved Sarah. Mounts Zion, Hermon, 




CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION. 



and Moriah, Pisgah, Tabor, and Olivet still stand upon their 
firm foundations, beautiful symbols of God's unchanging love. 
Jerusalem, though frequently demolished, has never been en- 
tirely destroyed. Dig down anywhere within the old walls, and 
you will come upon streets beautifully paved, grand archways, 
deep cisterns, immense columns, secret stair-cases, and long 
galleries cut through the solid rock, connecting the temple 



142 



BIBLE LANDS. 



inclosure with distant fountains, and the Tower of Antonia 
with the citadel on Mount Zion — really wonderful to behold. 

As to the identity of the valley of Hinnom and the Kedron, 
the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan, no question can be raised. 
So with the well of Jacob, the pool of Siloam, and the tomb of 
Rachel. Some doubts have been expressed as to the exact site 
of the Saviour's agony, death, and ascension ; but you feel when 
visiting the places designated as such that you are not far from 
the precise localities. 

Any one visiting the Yalley of the Dead Sea, though he had 
never seen a Bible — never heard of the overthrow of Sodom 
and Gomorrah — would be able to read the whole account of 
God's terrible judgments which destroyed the cities of the 
plain written upon the scathed rocks and desolate mountains 
which wall in that dismal gulf — fit emblem of the lake of fire. 

And the stranger from afar, who never heard of Solomon's 
gorgeous Temple, standing on Moriah, seeing the massiveness 
and height of the walls inclosing the sacred rock, exploring 
the great sea and other subterranean cisterns and vaults that 
underlie the whole vast area, examining the numerous beauti- 
ful gate-ways, broken columns, and arches of a remote antiquity, 
and the grand system of aqueducts that supplied the place with 
pure water from mountain springs twenty and forty miles dis- 
tant, would soon be persuaded that the high platform on which 
he stood must at one time have been the site of some grand 
temple of worship. And every reader of the Bible would be 
convinced that the rock beneath the dome of the Mosque of 
Omar could be none other than " the threshing-floor, of Arau- 
nah," where Abraham built his altar for the sacrifice of his 
son, and over which in after years the magnificent Temple of 
Solomon was erected. 



THE EKDUKIjN'G WORD. 



14a 



The same is true of the Grotto of the Nativity at Bethle- 
hem, the tomb of Christ in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, 
and many other places hallowed by the presence of Jesus. 
They all agree with the accounts as given by the evangelists, 
and no one, after carefully examining the localities, can ques- 
tion the fact that they are in exact accord with the Bible nar- 
rative. 

WT~ ' - -; - - 



mi 

\ {, .\ i 

I p "- ^ T~| 

TAULTS UNDER THE TEMPLE PLATFORM. 

Thus it will be seen that all explored and identified localities 
are in perfect harmony with the narrative of sacred history : 
and the imagery of the Bible also wonderfully corresponds, 
with the natural features, productions, and customs of the coun- 
try. The natives still plow, sow, and reap as of old ; the soil 
still retains its fertility; the streams still swarm with fish; 
lilies still bloom in the valleys ; birds still lodge in the branches. 




144 



BIBLE LANDS. 



of the mustard tree ; and every thing mentioned in the inspired 
volume agrees remarkably with the present state and condi- 
tion of the land. There are no discrepancies between the geo- 
graphieal statements of the Bible and existing facts, or the to- 
pography of the country. All discoveries and researches not 
only elucidate the Scriptures, but bear witness to the truth of 
Revelation. 

Further investigations will, no doubt, establish the locality of 
other places, until all skepticism as to the verity of the Script- 
ures has been removed, and the truth of God's word is estab- 
lished forever. 




EASTERN VIEW FROM THE WALL OF JERUSALEM. 



CHAPTER IV. 



MORIAH THE MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD'S HOUSE. 

Scene of Abraham's offering — Threshing-floor of Araunah — Site of Solomon's Tem- 
ple — Rock of Foundation — Destroyed by the Romans — Remains of the Noble 
Sanctuary — Mosque of Omar — Reflections — Mosque el Aksa — Mohammedan 
Legends. 

rpHE most memorable spot on earth, and tlie only spot hon- 



JL ored of God through long ages as the " habitation of his 
holiness," is Mount Moriah, where, as is generally believed, 
Melchizedek, King of Salem, officiated as " priest of the most 
high God," and Solomon in after years erected the first tem- 
ple ever built with hands for the worship of Jehovah, on the 
spot, as we learn from Josephus, where Abraham reared his 
altar for the sacrifice of his only son. 

It is one of the four mountains on which Jerusalem is sit- 
uated, separated from Zion on the west by the Tyropoeon valley, 
and from Olivet on the east by the valley of Jehoshaphat ; 
and beyond doubt is " the threshing-floor of Araunah," bought 
by David of Oman the Jebusite, and where he " offered his 
burnt-offerings unto the Lord," when the destroying angel 
stood with drawn sword over the plague-stricken city. 

It is not our intention to attempt any description of the 
" House of the Lord," as it appeared in all its glory when 
the Eternal God honored it with his presence, but to fix, if 
possible, its precise location, and furnish some additional facts 
corroborating the scriptural account of this unrivaled structure. 
The mural and other remains on this mount are of such a 
character, and the topography of the place agrees so fully with 




10 



146 



BIBLE LANDS. 



the inspired record, as to forbid any controversy touching its 
identity as Moriah. 

The predictions of Christ in regard to the Temple itself 
have been literally fulfilled — "not one stone left upon an- 
other," 1 all above ground "thrown down." There are, how- 




THE GOLDEN GATE. 



ever, on and around the mountain, traces left of the extent and 
grandeur of the buildings which once adorned its crest. Mass- 
ive walls, grand bridges, beautiful gate- ways, and other remains 
of the Temple and its courts, clearly indicating its outlines. We 
also find here vast reservoirs supplied by aqueducts leading off 



1 Matthew xxiv, 2. 



HAItAM IXCLOSUHE. 



147 



to mountain springs thirty miles distant ; secret passages, wide 
enough for three men to walk abreast, cut through the hard 
solid rock connecting the Temple with the Citadel on Mount 
Zionhalf a mile distant; and other subterranean rock-hewn gal- 
leries, leading down to Joab's well and beyond, a hundred feet 
below the surface, together with large sewers to convey the 
blood and washings of the great altar into the Kedron valley. 
Even the private staircases that went under the Temple, by 




GREAT SUBTERRANEAN SEA. 



which the priests, unobserved, could enter or retire, and which 
led to their baths, may still be seen. Much of the old material, 
such as fragments of sculpture, rare marbles, and beautiful 
columns found in the Mosque of Omar, Church of the Holy 
Sepulcher, and other more modern buildings, without doubt 
belonged to the Temple and its cloisters. There are, also, 
under the platform, great vaults and cisterns, secret doors and 
r.ivsterious passages, which were evidently connected with the 



148 



BIBLE LANDS. 



Holy Sanctuary ; and all the outer wall up to the present sur- 
face of the ground, which inclosed the courts of the Lord's 
House, is still standing, with its gates, towers, and immense 
stones, beautifully beveled and laid in regular courses, with the 
marks of the Phoenician masons still upon them, just as they 
were laid by Hiram's builders. This wall is almost a mile in 
extent, and from fifty to one hundred and forty feet high, but 
mostly covered up with debris. It gradually inclines inwardly, 
each course of stones above the foundation dropping back about 
three inches. The lower courses not only rest upon the living 
rock, but are anchored with lead and iron to the mountain it- 
self, and the storms and earthquakes of centuries have failed to 
move them from their firm foundation. 

The stones are from ten to forty feet long, with a face 
from four to six feet, and a depth somewhat greater. And yet 
these ponderous blocks are cut and fitted with so much pre- 
cision, that after the lapse of three thousand years it is almost 
impossible to discover the seams where they are joined together. 
There is no such piece of workmanship in Rome, Greece, or 
-Egypt- There were no clippings discovered, except where the 
natural rock was cut away to receive the lower course, showing 
that the stones were all dressed before brought upon the ground ; 
and under the city, just north of the temple inclosure, may 
still be seen the extensive quarries where most of the material 
was obtained. 1 The city wall ran outside of this one, sections 
of which are standing seventy feet high and fifteen thick, en- 
tirely buried with rubbish. 

1 These quarries, known as the Royal Caverns, are vast subterranean excavations 
under Mount Akra. You enter them near the Damascus Gate, and can stroll for 
hours from hall to hall, and see how every stone was quarried, the tools used, and 
how the blocks were broken from their natural beds by the expansion of wooden 
wedges, before the age of gunpowder or other modern appliances. 



THE " STONE OF FOUNDATION." 



151 



The Temple area is one thousand six hundred and one feet 
long by one thousand and forty-two wide, almost double its 
original dimensions, and probably as enlarged by Herod the 
Great, and the same as when Christ walked through its courts. 
The site of the Lord's house was connected with Solomon's 
palace and the city of David on Mount Zion by a magnificent 
stone bridge over the Tyropceon valley, three hundred and fifty 
feet long, fifty wide, and one hundred and ten feet high, the 
remains of which may be seen in the engraving, as discovered 
by Dr. Robinson. 

Near the center of the temple inclosure is a raised platform 
five hundred and fifty by four hundred and fifty feet, and fif- 
teen high, paved with marble, the slabs resting on the native 
rock. This is considered holy ground, and all visitors are here 
required to remove their shoes, as no unholy feet are allowed 
to tread this marble fioor. In the center of this platform a 
huge irregular piece of the natural limestone rock, perhaps 
fifty feet in diameter and six feet above the pavement, crops 
out of the mountain top, inclosed with a railing tipped with 
gold, lest the polluted hand of man should touch it. This rock, 
known as the Sakhra, according to the Rabbinical writers is the 
~" Stone of Foundation " — the first work of creation, next the 
Temple in point of sacredness, and round which the world was 
formed. Hence the legend of this being the world's center, 
and Mount Zion the holiest spot on earth and the perfection 
of beauty. It will be remembered that David first brought the 
Ark of the Covenant to Mount Zion, and when it was removed 
to the Temple after its completion the name of Zion was trans- 
ferred with the Ark to Moriah, which will account for this 
mountain being frequently called Zion. 

It is expressly stated in the Talmud that the Ark of the 



152 



BIBLE LANDS. 



Covenant stood upon the " Stone of Foundation." It is also 
stated that David, in digging the foundation for the Temple, 
came upon this stone over the mouth of the abyss, with the 
ineffable name of God inscribed upon it. This stone and the 
topography of the Temple area are then to determine the site 
of the Lord's house, with its altars, courts and other append- 




NOBLE CAYE, UNDER DOME OF THE ROCK. 

ages. From the Talmudic account we learn that the " Stone 
of Foundation" was the solid rock and highest point of the 
mountain, projecting slightly above the floor of the Holy of 
Holies, and that the Ark of the Covenant rested upon it ; that 
from this rock steps led down to the floor of the Temple, which 
stood on a solid platform six cubits above the general level of 
the mountain, and that the platform extended all round the 



THE ARK OF THE COVENANT. 



153 



house, with steps on the eastern front leading down to a still 
lower court. The position of the Sakhra is precisely that indi- 
cated in the Talmud, and is the only spot in the inclosure that 
meets all the requirements. Locate the center of the Holy of 
Holies on the center of this rock, and it agrees in a wonderful 
manner with every point and measurement as given by the 
Jewish Rabbis. And, what is still more surprising, with the 
Temple located here, a line drawn through the center from 
east to west would intersect the top of the Mount of Olives at 
the very point the red heifer is supposed to have been sacri- 
ficed, and a person standing on Olivet at that point can look 
straight over the wall, through the dome of David's judgment- 
seat, and the eastern door of the Mosque of Omar, and see a 
light burning on the rock. 

This platform was probably "' : the tln'eshing-noor of Ornan," 
and the large grotto under the rock, the cave where he and his 
four sons hid themselves from the angel of the Lord. 1 Isaiah 
appears to refer to this same stone in the passage. " Behold, I 
lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious 
corner-stone. 5 ' 2 It is also figuratively applied to Christ, who is 
represented as the " Rock of our salvation,'' and " chief Corner- 
stone/*' 

The Temple constructed by Solomon, B. C. 1011, out of the 
materials collected by David, and after the model furnished by 
divine Wisdom, was only half the dimensions of Herod's, but 
greatly excelled it in its richer decorations, and in having the 
real Ark of the Covenant, with the Mercy-seat and Shekinah, 
and Urim and Thummim, which the second Temple did not 
have ; and yet " the glory of this latter house was greater than 
the former," being honored with the Saviour's personal presence, 

1 1 Chronicles xxi, 20. 2 Isaiah xxviii, 16. 



154 



BIBLE LANDS. 



who worshiped in its courts, and officiated as our Great High- 
pmest at its altar. 

The dedication of the first Temple was a memorable event 
in the history of God's chosen people. The vast congregation 
of Israel, the earnest prayer of Solomon, the kindling of the 
holy fire upon the altar, and the cloud of glory which fillet! 
the house, rendered it an occasion never to be forgotten. This 
splendid edifice, after standing four hundred and twenty-four 
years, was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and most of its wealth 
carried with the Jews to Babylon. But no mention is made 
of the Ark of the Covenant being taken, and many believe it 
was concealed in some of the subterranean vaults of the Temple. 
Tradition says Jeremiah hid it in a cave, 1 and as neither the 
gold nor stone slabs would decay, it is not unreasonable to sup- 
pose it may yet be found with the tables of the law. What a 
discovery that would be ! 

The ark was not in the second Temple, so could not have 
been among the trophies carried to Borne, and in proof of this 
it is not represented in the sculpture on the Arch of Titus with 
the other articles of the noble sanctuary. 

After the captivity, and sixty-nine years after the destruction 
of the first Temple, the house of the Lord was rebuilt on the 
same site by Zerubbabel, and one of the most interesting dis- 
coveries lately made was the finding, just outside the double 
gate, on Ophel, of Haggai's seal, the prophet divinely commis- 
sioned, five hundred and fifty years before Christ, to have the 
. Lord's house restored. How strange, .to pick 
up a private seal after so many years ! perhaps 
dropped by its owner when superintending the 
iiagcai's seal, building of the second Temple. This house* 

1 2 Haceabes' :i, 5. 




MOSQUE OF OMAR. 



157 



afterward greatly enlarged and beautified by Herod, was finally 
destroyed by the Komans under Titus, A. D. 70. The founda- 
tions and portions of the walls of Solomon's Temple were, no 
doubt, used in the construction of the other, as they are fre- 
quently spoken of as the same temple, and the holy place was 
probably the same in both, as was also the magnificent Porch 
of Solomon, overlooking the valley of Jehoshaphat. 

After the conquest of the country by the Mohammedans, one 
of the first acts of Calif Omar was to build a splendid mosque, 
known as the " Dome of the Rock," ou the site of Jehovah's 
Temple. This edifice, afterward beautified by Calif Abd el Mar- 
wan, still crowns the summit of Moriah, and the place is re- 
garded by the Moslems as only second to Mecca in point of in- 
terest, as Mohammed is said to have ascended to heaven from 
here. The mosque is an octagonal building, five hundred and 
thirty-six feet in circumference, surmounted with a graceful 
dome supported by twelve exquisite antique marble and por- 
phyry columns. Covering, as it does, simply this naked rock, 
so sacred in its associations to Jew, Christian, and Mohammed- 
an, nothing could be more appropriate or grand. It is much 
finer . than St. Sophia, at Constantinople, or St. Mark's, at 
Yenice ; has no rival for grace or sanctity, and its peculiar shape 
is the only reason it has not been more extensively copied; but 
as a shrine for the " rock of ages " it is perfectly beautiful, and 
when the sunshine streams through its fifty-six gorgeous win- 
dows, its golden mosaics seem to kindle up with a divine fire, 
rendering the spot truly glorious. The building is encased on 
the outside with encaustic tiling and colored marble ; within, i t 
is golden arabesque and mosaic, very rich, with passages from 
the Koran every-where inserted in the walls. And, what is re- 
markable, no reference is made in the inscriptions to David, 



158 



BIBLE LANDS. 



Solomon, or Mohammed, but the name of " Jesus, the son of 
Mary/' is mentioned four times. Is this prophetic of it becom- 
ing some day a Christian church ? 

The profound repose and death-like silence of this Temple is 
in keeping with the sacredness of the place, for here alone in 
all the earth was the only living and true God worshiped 
throughout long ages ! When Greece was ignorant of God, 
and Borne had " changed the glory of the Incorruptible into 




5I0SQUE OF EL AKSA. 



an image made like to corruptible man," the descendants of 
Abraham on this mount and in this place still preserved the 
writings of Moses, and the worship of the one true and only 
God. It was here Solomon erected his beautiful Temple ; here 
through long centuries the daily sacrifice was offered, and God 
manifested himself to his people in the mysterious Shekinah 
as nowhere else on the earth ; here first were sung those stir- 



REFLECTIONS. 



ring psalms of David which ever since have been ascending 
like incense from earth to heaven. Toward this spot God's 
people in every age, and in every land, have turned their faces 
when they prayed ; and it was here the Great Teacher himself 
taught his disciples, wrought his miracles, and near by, on Cal- 
vary, a spur of the same mountain, as the " Lamb of God," was 
sacrificed for the sins of the world. Surely, "This is none 
other but the house of God and the gate of heaven." 

At the southern end of the Haram inclosure, along which 
Herod's grand cloister extended, is the Mosque el Aksa, generally 
supposed to be the Church of the Yirgin, built by Justinian in 
the sixth century. It is a large edifice, and contains some beau- 
tiful mosaic work and rare marble columns, many of them now 
plastered over. During the occupancy of the city by the Cru- 
saders, Baldwin II. assigned this church to a new order of 
knights, who from this circumstance were called Knight 
Templars, their office being to guard the holy mount. Near 
the entrance to this mosque are the reputed tombs of Aaron's 
sons, and a few steps to the left, " The "Well of the Leaf," or 
entrance to Paradise, according to Mohammedan tradition ; and 
at the further end two marble columns, standing about eight 
inches apart, called the " gate-posts to heaven," as the Moslems 
believe no one can enter Paradise without first passing between 
these pillars. Having always had some misgivings on this sub- 
ject, I concluded to settle the question at once, so, buttoning 
tightly my coat, made the effort, and by hard squeezing succeed- 
ed, feeling very comfortable over the matter. There was, how- 
ever, a lady with me, and she must needs try ; and try she did, 
but failed, and again and again she tried, and as often failed. 
So we came away feeling quite sad, she at her failure, I at the 
thought of going to heaven without my wife. 



CHAPTER V. 



GOLGOTHA AND TOMB OF CHRIST. 

Mount Calvary — Traditional Tomb of Christ — Arguments in Favor — Church of the 
Holy Sepulcher — Constantine's Basilica — Adam's Grave — Late Discoveries. 

TWO of the most hallowed spots on earth, round which, clus- 
ter our brightest hopes, are Golgotha and the tomb in 
which it is claimed the body of Jesus once lay. To identify 
these places after so long a time is no easy task, as all we know 
in reference to their location from the Scriptures is, that they 
were near each other u without the gate," and " nigh to the 
city." 

When Constantine the Great embraced Christianity, feeling 
moved to do something in honor of his divine Master, he caused 
to be erected over the then supposed sites of our Lord's pas- 
sion and burial, magnificent churches, portions of which still 
remain, somewhat changed in form, being all now under one 
roof, and known as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, but 
covering the same sites as Constantine's " House of Prayer " 
and Grand Basilica. 

This venerable edifice, though originally designed to com- 
memorate but the two great events of the Redeemer's death 
and resurrection, has been greatly abused by the superstition 
of mercenary priests and monks who have had charge of it for 
centuries, introducing other objects of doubtful propriety, hav- 
ing no connection with the place, and practicing all kinds of 
fraud on the ignorant and credulous pilgrims who visit by thou- 
sands this ancient church. We deplore as much as any one pos- 



CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPCLCHER. 



TRADITIONAL TOMB OF CHRIST. 



163 



sibly can the abuse and desecration of so sacred a spot, but this 
has nothing to do with the identity of the two places referred 
to, which, after a residence of several years in Jerusalem, and a 
careful investigation of its topography and the results of recent 
explorations, we are almost convinced are the veritable Gol- 
gotha where Christ was crucified, and the rock-hewn tomb 
from which on the morning of the third day he arose. 

As so much has been written upon this subject, we can only 
present a resume of the arguments advanced by Mr. Williams, De 
Vogue, and others, in support of the authenticity of the sites. 
'.No one can doubt for a moment that the early disciples and 
apostles were acquainted with the place of their Master's death 
and burial ; and many of those who were with him on his tri- 
umphal entry into the city, and who saw the darkened heavens 
at his crucifixion, must certainly have known the site of Gol- 
gotha. Within a few weeks of these remarkable events, after 
the gift of the Holy Ghost, on the day of Pentecost, there were 
three thousand Christians in Jerusalem. Others were daily 
added to their number, and a Church organized at once, of which 
James, the brother of our Lord, two years later, was created 
first Bishop ; and from that period down to the completion of 
Constantine's Church of the Resurrection, A. D. 335, there 
was never a time when there was not a Christian community in 
the city, with clergy, membership, and all the ordinances of the 
Church. And can any one suppose that during this period, 
when the religion of the Cross was conquering the world, and 
thousands from distant lands were visiting the Holy City, the 
locality of Calvary and the tomb of Joseph could be for- 
gotten? It is true, during the siege of Titus many of the 
Christians retired to Pella, beyond Jordan, and others took ref- 
uge in the caves and rock-tombs along the Kedron; there, how 



164 



BIBLE LANDS. 



ever, were many aged and sick and poor who remained in the 
city. Eusebius says that not more than half the population left, 
and most of those who left returned immediately after the siege 
was raised ; but can it be supposed that in this brief interval of 
less than live months the place before all others dear to them 
would be lost sight of ? These points of sacred interest were 
probably so well known to Pagan, Jew, and Christian, that 
none ever called them in question any more than Mount Zion, 
Olivet, or Moriah, and the events connected with them by this 
time had become items of history, fixing beyond controversy 
their locality. 

According to Jerome, Eusebius, and other historians, the pa- 
gan Emperor Hadrian, who ascended the throne A. D. 117, as 
an insult to the Jews and Christians, and that he might oblit- 
erate, as far as possible, all traces of their religion, changed the 
name of the city to JElia Capitolina, rebuilt and dedicated 
the temple on Moriah to Jupiter, and raised over the tomb of 
Christ a mound of earth, erecting thereon a shrine to Venus. 

After Constantine's conversion he sent his mother, Helena, in 
A. D. 325, when near fourscore years old, on a visit to the holy 
places, and when she reported to her son that the altar of Venus 
still desecrated the site of the Holy Sepulcher, the Emperor at 
once wrote to Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem, to have the tem- 
ple of Venus and mound of earth removed, and to build upon 
the spot, at the expense of the imperial treasury, a grand 
Christian church. Portions of this edifice remain to the present 
day, and its very crypt is still used as a cistern by the Copts. 
In this imperial order, which Eusebius has preserved, no doubt 
is expressed touching the site ; no search is to be made for the 
tomb ; no inquiry instituted in reference to its identity — that is 
known and admitted by all ; and when the earth was removed 



CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHER, 



165 



in presence of the Empress and others, the cave or tomb was 
found, just as it had been buried two centuries before. It was 
the recovery of the Sepulcher, and not, as some suppose, the find- 
ing of the true cross — an invention of after years — that Con- 
stantine regarded as so " miraculous and it was in celebration 
of this event, and as a memorial of the passion and resurrec- 




TOMB OF CHRIST. 



tion of Christ, that he erected his magnificent Martyrium or 
Basilica, which was dedicated with great pomp in the year 335, 
in presence of a vast assemblage of bishops and prelates from 
every province in the Roman Empire. This Church was 
stripped of all its wealth, and partly destroyed, by the Persians 
A. D. 614=, but was immediately rebuilt on the old foundations. 
It was doomed a«;am to destruction by the ^lohammedans in 



166 



BIBLE LANDS. 



A. D. 1010, and again reconstructed much as it appears to-day 
— the fire of 1808 not changing its general features. 

The present edifice is a collection of chapels three hundred 
and fifty feet long, by two hundred and eighty wide, under the 
same roof. The Sepulcher is an old Jewish tomb in the center 
of the rotunda of the Church, encased inside and out with 
marble from four to six inches thick, and otherwise richly 
decorated ; but beneath this marble is an original tomb, about 
six and a half feet square, cut in the native lime-stone rock. 
The bench, or loculus for the corpse, is on the right hand 
of the entrance, three feet wide and eighteen inches above the 
floor, covered with a white marble slab. The door is not over 
three feet high, so that a person looking in would have to 
stoop in order to see where the body lay, agreeing in every par- 
ticular with the narrative ; and there can be but little doubt that 
this is the tomb in which the Lord Jesus Christ once lay. 

Cyril, a native of Palestine, and Bishop of Jerusalem in the 
year 350, speaks of the Sepulcher and rent rocks just as they 
now appear. All the fathers of the Church give the same 
testimony, and it was not until the middle of the eighteenth 
century that a doubt was even expressed touching the locality. 
And why doubt the verity of this site? Is there any thing im- 
probable about it ? Any thing unworthy of credit in the uni- 
versal belief of the Apostolic Church in reference to this spot ? 
"Were not the Christians of the first and second centuries as 
capable of determining this matter as their brethren of the 
nineteenth century, few of whom have ever visited the place? 
The country under the Romans was carefully surveyed, and a 
record made of the boundaries of every field. So there could 
have been no difficulty in determining the precise locality of 
Golgotha and the garden of Joseph of Arimathea. 



ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR. 



167 



About the only objection ever raised against the site is its 
location, being inside the city, which we consider one of the 
strongest arguments in its favor. Would the early Christians, 
with the Scriptures in their possession and learned men to ex- 
pound them, have selected a site and built a church within the 
city to commemorate an event that transpired without the gates, 
if they had not had the strongest reasons for so doing ? Or, 
if a pious fraud had been intended, would they not have chosen 
a site outside the walls ? Then, what motive could they have 
had who suffered persecution, torture, and even death for the 
truth, to practice such an imposition upon the Church and the 
world ? Some have contended for the knoll over Jeremiah's 
grotto, outside the present walls, near the Damascus gate, but 
without a single argument to support their theory. The rocks 
of this knoll all lie undisturbed in their natural beds, there 
being no evidence of any upheaval, as in the other site, and at 
the time of the crucifixion there could have been no such 
mound here, it being a part of a rocky ridge cut through and 
used as a stone-quarry when the modern wall was built, as may 
be seen by the old tombs, cisterns and aqueducts left exposed 
by these later excavations. 

A. late survey of the rock formation underlying the city re- 
moves every topographical objection to the traditionary locality, 
and reveals the fact, not known before, that Golgotha was 
really an eminence, a spur of Akra running out into the Tyro- 
poeon Yalley, at least ninety feet in its present condition above 
the natural surface at its base, showing clearly that Calvary 
was a mount with precipitous sides facing the south : a very 
important point. It was also discovered that this was an 
ancient place of burial, several old Jewish tombs being found, 
and that the rocks were rent as with an earthquake, which is 



168 



BIBLE LANDS. 



not true of any other ridge about Jerusalem : another impor- 
tant point. Many of these tombs were cut away to make room 
for Constantine's Church, and in one place the old wall of this 
Church runs directly through a Catacomb in which we counted 
seven locuU, all more ancient than the Holy Sepulcher, which 
was a new tomb. In front of one the stone slab was still 
lying that closed the door, showing that it had once been occu- 
pied and probably opened at the time of Christ's resurrection, 
and from the hollow sound when striking on the natural rock 
floor, there are evidently other tombs below. Could these be 
the graves from which the saints arose ? Some of these tombs, 
as those back of the Holy Sepulcher, have long been known 
as the graves of Mcodemus, Gamaliel, and Joseph, and one 
under Calvary as that of Adam! Those who may feel dis- 
posed to smile at this last statement had better first account for 
the tradition, which is older than our era, that Golgotha de- 
rived its name from Adam's skull or tomb being there, and 
that Christ, the second Adam, was to die and bring " immor- 
tality to light " on the spot where the first Adam, who brought 
death and ruin into our world, was buried ; and the human 
skull in all old paintings of the crucifixion is designed to 
symbolize the grave of Adam at the foot of the cross. The 
importance of the discovery of these tombs, in the settlement 
of this question, cannot be overrated. It proves conclusively 
that this locality was outside of the city at the time of the 
crucifixion, as the Jews were not allowed to bury within the 
city, and that these old Jewish tombs must be prior to that 
event: and also, that from the time of the construction of 
Agrippa's wall A. D. 45, down to the building of the Church 
of the Resurrection, the place, for some reason, must have been 
carefully guarded, if not covered over with earth, or these 



PILGRIMS VISITING THE TOMB. 



169 



tombs would not have been preserved in their perfect condition 
for three centuries within the city walls. 

These researches further show that the second wall could not 
have inclosed the site of the Holy Sepulcher without crossing 
the sloping sides of Akra ; and if the wall had run over this 
ridge, as Dr. Robinson contends, traces of it would be found in 
the scarped rock, and there would have been a fosse on the 
outside, as every-where else along the old wall, otherwise 
the hill to the west would have commanded it : but there is 
nothing anywhere to indicate that the wall ever ran in this 
direction. The gate of Gennath, from which the second wall 
started, must have been about midway between the Tower of 
Hippicus and the Temple inclosure, as may be seen by refer- 
ence to our plan of Jerusalem. There is no evidence that 
the reputed Pool of Hezekiah is the work of that king. It 
probably was built by Herod the Great, and has nothing to 
do with the settlement of this site, which seems to be as fully 
established as any thing can be short of actual demonstration. 
It would be presumption to fix upon the identical spot where 
the Cross was planted ; but to doubt the identity of the tomb 
would be to falsify all history, and render ridiculous the devo- 
tion of the pious millions who have knelt and prayed and wept 
at this sacred shrine. For more than eighteen centuries pil- 
grims from all lands have been visiting this tomb. For these 
eighteen hundred years the dying in distant climes have turned 
their pale faces toward this spot, and expired with the vision of 
the Resurrection before their eyes. For long centuries kings 
and queens sages and statesmen, heroes and philosophers — the 
mighty and lowly of earth — have been coming to pay their 
vows and drop a tear upon the rock where, as they believe, the 
body of Jesus once lay : and we do not envy the man who can 



170 



BIBLE LAXDS. 



mark unmoved the zeal and love and faith, though mixed with 
superstition, of these devoted Christians. Some, when they 
enter the rotunda, stand for hours gazing intently on the tomb, 
counting themselves unworthy to enter. Others remove their 
shoes, and on their knees go in, kissing reverentially the cold 
stone'; and all seem to look upon the place as the holiest spot 
on earth. 




POOL OF HEZEKIAH, AND DOME OYER THE TOMB OF CHRIST. 

A new graceful bronze dome with golden ribs has lately 
been constructed over the rotunda that encircles the Holy 
Sepulcher, a good view of which, with Hezekiah's pool in the 
fore-ground, is given by our artist from Mr. Hornstein's Medi- 



DOME OVER THE TOMB OF CHRIST. 171 

terranean Hotel, near the Jaffa Gate. This dome is surmounted 
by a golden cross, and the one over the Mosque of Omar on 
Mount Moriah, by a golden crescent. On a clear evening, 
when the sun goes down in splendor, the effect on these two 
gilded domes is beautiful. At first, both are seen dazzling in 
the sunlight, but as the sun declines the shadows first fall on 
the crescent, and long after the shades of twilight have cast a 
gloom over the city the sun's last lingering rays may still be 
seen reflected from the golden cross over the tomb of Christ. 




TOMB OF 



AARON. 



CHAPTER VI. 



ROYAL SEPULCIIER OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID. 

Ancient Rock-hewn Tombs — Old Jewish Tombs — Natives Use them as Dwellings — 
Tombs of the Patriarchs, Prophets, Kings — Sepulcher of David on Mount 
Zion — Tomb of Joshua — St. Stephen — Eudocia. 

THE oldest and most reliable remains of Jewish antiquity in 
Palestino are the rock-hewn tombs found scattered all over 
the country. In the vicinity of large cities like Jerusalem, the 
mountain sides are perforated with these sepulchral caves, many 
of them occupied by the poor natives and their flocks. In 
some districts half the population live in these tombs of their 
ancestors. 

As a nation the Hebrews seem to have been very particular 
about the place of their burial. A tent might answer to live 
in, but their place of burial must be a rock-bound tomb ; and 
it is rather remarkable that the first business transaction re- 
corded in the affairs of this world should be the purchase by 
Abraham of the Cave of Machpelah for a family tomb. And 
how touchingly beautiful the dying charge of the Patriarch 
Jacob, " Bury me with my fathers in the cave which is in the 
field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of 
Machpelah. which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan. 
There they buried Abraham, and Sarah his wife ; there they 
buried Isaac, and Pebekah his wife; and {here I buried 
Leah." 1 Likewise Joseph, when taking leave of his brethren, 
exacted with all the solemnity of an oath the promise, that 

1 Genesis xlix, 29-31. 



EOCK-I-IEWJSr TOMBS. 



173 



when they returned to Canaan they would surely carry his 
bones with them " up out of Egypt," which they did some two 
hundred years after, and buried them in the parcel of ground 
given him by his father at Shechem, where his grave may still 
be seen, a few minutes 5 walk from Jacob's Well. 

It appears to have been a prevailing custom among the Jews 
for every head of a family to secure a place of burial for him- 
self and descendants. Some of these tombs, as those of the 




TOMB OF THE JUDGES. 



judges, prophets, kings, and others, are vast excavations in the 
solid rock, composed of numerous apartments cut out with great 
skill, and very similar to the Egyptian tombs. No lock was 
ever invented more ingenious in its combinations than the orio;- 
inal entrance to the reputed tomb of Helena, Queen of Adia- 
bene, generally called the " Tomb of the Kings," but more 
probably of the Herodian family. We think it could be easily 
shown, as stated by Pausanias, "that the door opened of its 



174 



BIBLE LANDS. 



own accord once a year," by a very simple hydraulic arrange- 
ment. 1 

There is no difficulty in determining these Jewish tombs. 
They are all as distinct from the Greek, Roman, and Christian, 
as different orders oi architecture could possibly be. In the more 
ancient and common, the graves are sunken in the floor or cut 
horizontally, like an oven or pigeon-hole, in the sides of the 
chamber or face of a natural cliff. The others have a shelf or 




INTERIOR OF ROCK-HEWN TOMB. 



bench along the end wall or side, on which the corpse was laid, 
as in the Holy Sepulcher. Sometimes this shelf, or loculus, was 
cut out like a trough, of sufficient depth to receive the body, 
which was then covered with a flat stone or marble slab. All 
these tombs are anterior to our era. Some have Hebrew in- 
scriptions upon them, and the reputed tomb of Christ being of 
this kind, together with the other ancient graves recently dis- 
covered under the foundations of Constantine's Church of the 

1 During the spring rains a float in the vestibule cistern would remove a key that 
held in position a circular stone that closed the entrance, which at once, of its- 
own weight, would roll back, and the door open of its own accord. 



ANCIENT JEWISH TOMBS. 



175 



Resurrection, is a strong argument in favor of the traditional 
Holy Sepulcher. In some of these tombs small receptacles are 
found, as if designed for children, yet containing the bones of 
adults, and appear to have been used to deposit the remains or 
skeletons in after they had fallen to pieces, perhaps to make 
room for fresh corpses. Thus, the dead " were gathered unto 
their fathers." 




JOSEPH'S TOMB AND MOUNT GERIZIM. 



The identity of any particular tomb in the absence of inscrip- 
tions after the lapse of so many centuries is exceedingly diffi- 
cult ; still, as in that of the patriarchs and of Rachel, of Joseph 
and of David and others, there is no room for skepticism. 
The Scriptures are very explicit in their account of David com- 
ing up from Hebron and taking the strong " Castle of Zion," 
and building the new City of David round about the old for- 
tress of the Jebusites. Zion henceforth became his royal resi- 
dence, and when Israel's great king closed his eventful reign of 



176 



BIBLE LANDS. 



forty years it is written, " lie was buried in the City of David," 1 
and so it is said of Solomon his son, and of twelve of their suc- 
cessors to the throne. They were all buried in " the City of 
David " on Mount Zion, " which is Jerusalem." 

On the highest summit of Zion, where, according to all his- 
tory and tradition, " Israel's sweet singer " reigned, died, and 
was buried, there is an old church and convent known as Neby 
Daud, or the Tomb of the Prophet David, which in all proba- 
bility covers the sepulchral caverns of the kings of Israel. 
After the Captivity, when E~ehemiah was rebuilding the walls 
of Jerusalem, he refers to the "sepulchers of David" being 
still there, which agrees precisely with this locality, and " the 
stairs that go down from the City of David," 2 cut in the living 
rock, may still be seen here. Josephus also makes mention of 
the same fact, and locates the tomb on Mount Zion about this 
point. And Peter, on the day of Pentecost, reminds the Jews 
that the sepulcher of David, their great prophet, was with 
them unto that day. From Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, and 
others, we learn that there was a building known as the Church 
of the Apostles, standing on or near this spot in the fourth 
century, and said to be the only edifice within the city not 
destroyed by Titus. The foundations of the present building 
are evidently of great antiquity, the beveled stones having 
originally been laid without mortar, being held together with 
stone knobs and sockets, and the old capitals on the pillars and 
other fragments of sculpture are clearly of Jewish origin, having 
on them the vine with foliage and clusters of grapes, so peculiar 
to that people, with other marks of Jewish workmanship. 

Over the reputed tomb on the second floor of this old Chris- 
tian Church, now a Mohammedan mosque, is an upper room 

1 1 Kings ii, 10. * Nehemiah iii, 15, 16. 



THE CCENAOULUM. 



177 



forty-five by thirty feet, with groined ceiling supported by 
twelve granite and marble antique columns, which for at least 
fifteen centuries has been known as the Coenaculum, or " upper 
room," where the last supper was instituted, and where the 
Holy Ghost was poured out upon the disciples on the day of 
Pentecost. The place overflows with thought! "What mem. 



—9— -9- 

WOMEN'S GALLERY. 



1XPPER BOOM. 



4-S X 30 



GROINED CEILING 
Ol o 1 

12 COLUMNS 



|cenotaph| 




ANTE-ROOM 



LOWER TERRACE 



STEPS TO TERRACE 
FROM WHICH YOU ENTER. 
UPPER TERRACE - 



OPEN COURT. 



PLAN OF THE UPPER ROOM, OVER TOMB OP DAVID. 

A and B. Remains of two small minarets, right and left of original entrance, now closed. 
■C. Stairs leading to lower apartments and the Eoyal Sepuleher of David. _To. 1. Eed granite 
column with Jewish capital. No. 2. Gray granite column with Grecian capital, very fine. 
No. 3. Exquisite marble column of the Eoman order, the capital richly sculptured with birds and 
animals among the foliage. A. belt course or frieze runs round the room at the spring of the arch, 
of Jewish workmanship, and very beautiful, showiug the vine and clusters of grapes. 



ories it awakens ! But no words can describe the emotions expe- 
rienced by the devout mind on first entering that " upper room." 

That this is the site of the City of David none will deny, as 
the remains of the old citadel and walls and towers clearly at- 
test, and as the excavations lately made on Zion by that enthu- 
siastic Christian archaeologist, Mr. Henry Maudslay, fully 



178 



BIBLE LANDS. 



demonstrate. That there are great caverns under this portion 
of Mount Zion there can be no question, having myself ex- 
plored them in part. And that the royal sepulchers of the 
kings of Israel, entered and robbed by Hyrcanus and Herod the 
Great, if not here, are very near this locality, there can be but 
little doubt. Beyond this, until further explorations are made, 
nothing can be definitely known. I visited this interesting 
place early one morning during the Passover, and was sur- 
prised to find a large number of Jews, men and women, weep- 
ing and praying against the eastern face of the old wall just 
outside the crypt, not being allowed to enter the tomb of their 
own prophet and king ; at the same time I could hear the Mo- 
hammedans at prayers within. Rather a novel sight — Jews 
without, Moslems within, and Christian looking on. 

This is considered one of the most sacred localities about 
Jerusalem by all religionists. ~No place is guarded more 
jealously by the Turk, and only good Moslems are permitted to 
enter the vault that contains the cenotaph of the royal prophet. 
Having long had a desire to visit this mysterious crypt, about 
which I had heard the most fabulous tales, and being familiar 
with the dialect of the land — for whatever it may have been of 
old, backsheesh is the language of Canaan now, I succeeded 
one midnight hour, when the guards were asleep, in gaining 
admission into these forbidden parts. It was a perilous under- 
taking, and I knew my life was in jeopardy every moment. 
Going down seventeen stone steps in the south-west corner 
of the upper room, I was landed in a chamber the size of the 
one above — a kind of chapel or mosque for common pilgrims — 
from which, through a grated window hung with thousands 
of votive offerings, can be seen what is termed the tomb. 
This room communicates with another, a land of ante-room 



TOMB OF DAVID. 



179 



with a niche for prayer, in front of which stood two large 
brass candlesticks, and in the comer on the left several flags 
and devices, such as are carried on pilgrimages. Between this 
ante-room and the next, which is the sanctum sanctorum— a 
vaulted room twenty-five feet square with walls of great thick- 
ness — there are double doors, the outer one iron with strong 
bolts, the inner, wood, overhung with a black velvet curtain 




TOMB OF DATID. 



embroidered with silver. The cenotaph extends almost across 
the crypt from east to west on the north side. It is built of 
common stone, nicely dressed, about five feet high, with a 
square marble slab in front, and an oval porphyry one on top, 
the whole covered with a green velvet canopy or pall, with 
black border richly wrought in gold ; and directly in front, on 
a black velvet ground in Arabic characters, is the following 



180 



BIBLE LANDS. 



passage from the Koran, also embroidered in gold : " O David ! 
verily thou art a sovereign prince in the earth." 

The marble floor was covered with Persian rugs. The walls 
were cased with blue encaustic tiling, and the vault lighted dimly 
by six lamps suspended from the ceiling, and two very large 
silver candlesticks, one at either end of the tomb, rendering the 
place awfully solemn. But the most interesting part of this 
venerable edifice is a door with an oval top on the left of the 
shrine, now closed securely with masonry. In a little niche 
by the side of it a lamp is kept always burning, and the most 
frightful stories are told of persons being struck with blindness 
in attempting to enter this door, and of others being consumed 
by fire — probably fire-damp — bursting out of the cavern be- 
low ; and, in consequence, the door was walled up many years 
ago, in all probability the very door that leads to the royal 
catacombs of the kings of Israel. Over this closed entrance 
there is an Arabic inscription to the effect, " This is the gate 
to heaven," or " the door to paradise," but alas ! it is closed ! 
Closed by Mohammedan superstition. Ah ! could we but open 
that door, and get down into the grotto below, and be permitted 
to gaze upon the gold and silver coffins of God's own chosen 
kings, and find there the golden harp on which David played 
his immortal psalms, what a discovery it would be ! How 
much speculation it would remove ! and how many points it 
would establish in the topography of the Holy City ! But we 
must wait. 

"God is his own interpreter, 
And he will make it plain." ' 

An interesting discovery has lately been made at ancient. 
Timnath-serah, the heritage of Joshua, in the supposed tomb 
of Joshua the son of Nun. It differs from the other ruck 



TOMB OF JOSHUA. 



181 



tombs in the vicinity by having a vestibule in front, supported 
by two columns, portions of the natural rock, with a fillet run- 
ning round them after the Egyptian style. In this vestibule 
there are two or three hundred niches for lamps, indicating 
that it was the tomb of no ordinary person. Back of this ves- 
tibule are two chambers, one containing fifteen receptacles, the 
other but one. The latter is supposed to be Joshua's, the 
former his family vault ; and in proof of this supposition many 
flint-knives were here found, such as were used in circumcising 




JEWISH ROCK-CUT TOMBS. 



the children of Israel after they crossed the Jordan, and simi- 
lar to those discovered at Gilgal. their first camping-place in the 
Land of Promise. 

Another beautiful tomb was discovered a short time since, 
about one hundred and fifty yards north of the Damascus gate. 
In digging a cistern at this point the workmen came upon sev- 
eral sepulchral vaults, in one of which was found a large stone 
chest or coffin, containing human remains. It measured seven 



182 



BIBLE LANDS. 



feet seven inches In length, by two feet eight inches in width r 
and was three feet two inches high, standing on four feet 
in the center of the chamber. As no name or inscription was 
found in the crypt by which it could be identified, it is impos- 
sible to tell to whom this stately tomb belonged ; but, as near 
this, if not on the very spot, once stood the grand Church of 
St. Stephen, on the supposed site of that holy man's martyr- 
dom, and as the beautiful and accomplished En^ress Eudocia, 
died and was buried here, may not this sarcophagus be the 
tomb of the unfortunate wife of Theodosius II., if not that of 
St. Stephen himself, who was re-interred here by that empress ? 

These tombs are every-where found. They cover the face 
of the Holy Land. In them sleep the dust of the most eminent 
men that ever lived ; of whom, however, nothing more can 
be known until the earth delivers up her dead. 



CHAPTER VII. 



EASTEE FESTIVITIES. 

Arrival of Pilgrims — Religious Fanaticism— Solemn Mockeries — Ceremony of Feet- 
washing — Dramatizing the Crucifixion — Baptism of Fire — Other shocking 
Scenes. 

IN the center of the Greek Chapel, in front of the tomb of 
Christ, a small marble globe on a low pedestal is pointed 
out as the center of the world. Many visitors laugh heartily 
at the idea, but is it not as near the center as any other spot on 
the earth's surface ? For centuries Jerusalem was regarded as 
the world's center of wealth, power, intelligence, and popula- 
tion, and all degrees of latitude and longitude, and all astro- 
nomical calculations, were reckoned from this center. It was 
also the great center of religious influence, and is still the moral 
center, and ever will be, round which the dearest hopes and 
affections of our race revolve. Thousands of pilgrims from all 
lands are constantly coming and going. Many save up their 
money for half a lifetime in order to make this journey. The 
very stones are worn smooth with their kisses and tears ; and 
yet, with all this devotion, which we cannot but admire, there 
is very little true religion. 

Just now we are in the midst of the Easter festivities, which 
attract vast multitudes. The city is crowded with strangers, 
and the hills outside the walls are white with their tents, look- 
ing as if we were invested by a besieging army. The arrival 
of these caravans is quite exciting ; processions go out to meet 
them, and with music, dancing, and waving banners, they are 



184 



BIBLE LANDS. 



escorted into the Holy City. Those from Russia Mecca and 
Persia attract the greatest attention. 

As I write, a procession is passing, with a man standing bare- 
footed on the sharp edge of a sword. Of course there is some 
deception ; either the feet are well protected, or the sword not 
very sharp. Others pretend to thrust swords and daggers 
through different parts of their bodies, and others again to eat 
fire without being burned, all which is regarded by the super- 
stitious as miraculous. One of the dervishes has just come 
into the Consulate with a sword run through his face from 
near the right ear and out of his mouth, to the great amaze- 
ment of the natives; but on examination I found that the 
cheek had been previously pierced, and allowed partially to 
heal up, the opening being concealed by his black heavy beard. 
This deception we can account for among the ignorant Mussul- 
mans ; but how are we to excuse even greater mockeries when 
practiced by professing Christians ? 

The Easter services began by the ancient and very curious 
ceremony of feet-washing. A platform gorgeously decorated 
was constructed in the open court in front of the Church of 
the Holy Sepulcher, on which were seated the Greek Patriarch, 
personating Christ, and twelve Bishops, representing the twelve 
apostles. After reading a portion of the Gospel relating to 
Christ washing the disciples' feet, the Patriarch, in imitation 
of our Lord, went a short distance with three of his disciples, 
and knelt down, as if in prayer, under an olive-tree planted 
there for the occasion. After a few minutes lie returned 
to the stage, and, taking off his outer robe, proceeded to 
wash and kiss the feet of the pretended apostles. The 
looks of Judas rather betrayed him during this operation, 
and Peter at first hesitated, then refused to submit to such 



DRAMATIZING- THE CRUCIFIXION. 



185 



an act on the part of the Lord, but finally was persuaded to 
yield. 

The vessel used for the purpose was a basin of pure gold r 
very large, and richly chased. When this ceremony was con- 
cluded Judas stealthily retired, and the Patriarch, with a bunch 
of hyssop, sprinkled the vast assemblage with the water that 
remained, all manifesting the greatest eagerness to catch if but 
a drop : some turning up their faces, others baring their 
breasts, in hope that a drop of the holy water might fall upon 




them. When this service ended, a rush was made for the 
olive-tree, supposed to possess rare healing qualities, the super- 
stitious believing that a leaf or twig burned in a sick chamber 
would recover the patient immediately. The scene at this 
moment was frightful to behold, thousands of infatuated men 
and women rushed pell-mell upon the tree, till not a branch or 
leaf remained, not even a trace of the tree, so completely was 
it destroyed ; and had Judas not escaped when he did, he too 
would have shared a similar fate. 

In this same church, on the following evening, an exhibition 



186 



BIBLE LANDS. 



took place almost as shocking as that witnessed very near the 
same spot eighteen centuries before. Christ in effigy was nailed 
to a cross and crucified afresh in the presence of an excited 
multitude, that could only be kept under control by the pres- 
ence of a strong guard of Turkish soldiers detailed for the pur- 
pose. After hanging for an hour or more, during which time 
all the scenes of the crucifixion were re-enacted, the nails were 
drawn from the hands and feet, the crown of thorns removed 
from the head, and the body carefully lowered from the cross ; 
after which it was wrapped in a winding-sheet, carried to the 
stone of unction, where it was prepared for burial, then placed 
in the supposed original tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, where 
it remained until Easter morning, when it was spirited away 
while yet it was dark, in imitation of Christ's resurrection. 

The whole effect on the multitude was wonderful ; men and 
women wept like children ; some smote violently their breasts ; 
others struggled to touch or kiss the figure ; and some to wipe 
up the drops of blood that oozed from the wounds, applying it 
to their lips, eyes, and hearts, in the firm belief that it would 
cure them of all their sins. 

But the most exciting scene witnessed here during these 
festivities is the kindling of the holy fire. The foundation 
for this unwarranted imjDosition is that portion of Scripture 
where Christ represents himself as the " Light of the world," 
and says, " I am come to send fire on the earth." There is 
also an old legend which says that on one occasion, the day 
before Easter, fire was seen issuing from the tomb of Christ. 
Hence, the imposition is still practiced by the Greek and Arme- 
nian Churches. Usually on this occasion thousands of pilgrims 
gather about the Holy Sepulcher. The crowd at times has 
been so great that many have been trampled to death — on one 



THE HOLY FIRE. 



187 



occasion several hundred. Now a strong body of Turkish 
soldiers is employed to preserve order and hold in check the 
excited multitude. 

We were present on several occasions to witness this strange 
exhibition of fanaticism. The vast edifice, with its courts and 
galleries, was packed with pilgrims hours before the service 
began. Some had been there from the night before, anxiously 
waiting for the baptism of fire. The interval up to the hour 
appointed for the service to begin was occupied by all kinds 
of performances. Men, mounted on the shoulders of others, 
were carried about, going through a variety of fantastic ma- 
neuvers ; some seemed to walk on the heads of the human 
mass beneath them, haranguing the multitude, pouring male- 
diction on the Jews for crucifying the Lord of glory, and 
shouting in their frenzy for fire to come down from heaven 
and consume their enemies. The excitement of the scene was 
heightened by frequent conflicts between the soldiers and the 
people, the whole assembly at times swaying to and fro like 
the surging sea. 

About two o'clock in the afternoon the procession of priests 
and bishops, led by the choir and followed by the Greek Pa- 
triarch, all richly attired, came moving out of the Greek 
Chapel, and after marching round the sepulcher three times 
the Patriarch entered the Chapel of the Angel, in front of the 
supposed tomb of our blessed Lord, the door closing immedi- 
ately after him ; the soldiers with difficulty keeping back the 
multitude, who now made a rush for the entrance, all eager to 
catch the first flame from the holy shrine. The excitement at 
this moment was intense. All eyes were turned toward the 
opening in the tomb from which the fire was expected to come. 
Ten thousand tapers in ten thousand hands were ready to be 



188 



BIBLE LANDS. 



lighted by the first flash from the sepulcher ; one man, it is 
said, paying eighty thousand piasters for a position near the 
opening. All now was silence, and the suspense oppressive ; 
when suddenly a flame was seen bursting from the tomb. The 
great bells in rapid peals announced the event far and near. 
Thousands of men and women, wild with enthusiasm, and be- 
lieving that the fire actually came from heaven, rushed to light 
their tapers in the flame. The soldiers on duty were swept 
away like chaff before the "whirlwind. Hundreds fell upon the 
marble pavement and were trampled under foot by the infu- 
riated mob. Shrieks and cries ascended from the seething 
crowd. Men rushed frantically out with torch in hand to 
diffuse the fire among their friends and neighbors. Some in 
their frenzy set their beards on fire, others tore off their cloth- 
ing to burn their bodies, and parents were seen holding up 
their little children that they, too, might touch the flame. 
As if by magic thousands of lamps, candles and tapers were 
lighted in every chapel, alcove, and gallery, until the entire 
vast edifice was ablaze. The confusion and noise were bewil- 
dering ; the heat and smoke, suffocating ; and the whole effect 
reminded one more of the fire-worshipers of Baal in their 
midnight orgies than of a Christian service. 

We pity the credulity of the ignorant people present on this 
occasion ; but what excuse can be offered for the learned priests 
and bishops who thus wantonly turn into comedy the most sa- 
cred events ? For all such exhibitions we regard as nothing 
more than solemn mockeries. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



BETHLEHEM, HILL COUNTRY OF JUDEA. 

Birthplace of Christ — Church of the Nativity — Oriental Khan — Christmas in Beth- 
lehem — Armenian Convent — Midnight Service — Solemn Impressions — Grotto 
of St. Jerome — Birthplace of John the Baptist — Wilderness of Judea — Lo- 
cust and Wild Honey— Difference of Opinion. 

SITUATED on a fruitful ridge about six miles south of 
Jerusalem, overlooking the Yalley of the Kedron on the 
north, and the deep chasm of the Dead Sea on the east, is 
Bethlehem of Judea, to the Christian the holiest place on earth. 

It is one of the oldest villages in Palestine, and associated 
with some of the most stirring events in the religious history 
of the world. Here Ruth gleaned after the reapers of Boaz ; 
here the youthful David kept his father's flocks, and was an- 
ointed King of Israel ; here, also, Jeremiah, after denouncing 
God's terrible judgments upon the people, foretold the coming 
of- "The Lord our Eighteousness ; " 1 and here the shepherds 
who watched their flocks by night were startled t by the angelic 
song announcing the Messiah's birth, and proclaiming the 
evangel of "peace on earth, and good-will toward men." 

The name signifies the House of Bread, and truly it may be 
said, Bethlehem has given to our perishing race the bread of 
eternal life. "What countless millions have feasted on this heav- 
enly loaf ! 

As we rode along the well-beaten path leading from Jerusa- 
lem, crowded with pilgrims from all lands going up to visit 

1 Jeremiah xxiii, 6. 



192 



BIBLE LANDS. 



the place that gave birth to the Saviour of mankind, what old 
memories were awakened ! Here, on the plain of Eephaim, 
over which the road winds, it is supposed the army of Sen- 
nacherib lay encamped when smitten by the destroying angel ; 1 
.along this same road Abraham probably journeyed on his way 
to the Mount of God, leading his only son as a lamb to the 
slaughter ; along this same road the Virgin and her husband 
once toiled on their weary way to the " City of David, which 




RACHEL'S TOMB. 

is called Bethlehem ; " along this same road the magi came 
with their costly gifts to worship at the feet of the new-born 
King; and long beforathe advent of Christ, long before the 
Hebrews possessed the land, when the Jebusites stjll held the 
old " Castle of Zion," Jacob, on his way to Hebron, traveled 
over this same road ; and it was here that Kachel, his young 
-and beautiful wife, died as she gave birth to her second son. 

1 2 Kings xix, 35. 



THE INN OF BETHLEHEM. 



193 



How touchingly sad the narrative, " And Eachel died and was 
buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And 
Jacob set a pillar upon her grave," etc. 1 

Near four thousand years have elapsed since this mother in 
Israel died, and Jacob set up this stone as a memorial over her 
grave ; and yet the tomb of Eachel is still here by the way-side, 
protected by Jewish, Christian, and Moslem piety as one of the 
most sacred spots in the Holy Land. 

That the grotto pointed out as the birthplace of Christ is 
very near, if not the identical spot of our Saviour's nativity, 
there is no reason to doubt. All tradition and history agree 
upon this locality. Justin Martyr, who was a native of Syria, 
and had every opportunity of knowing the precise place, tells 
us Christ was born in this cave ; Origen mentions the same 
fact. Helena, also, before she erected her grand basilica to 
commemorate the event, must have known the spot. It is not 
likely that events so wonderful as the visit of the angels who 
announced his birth, the coming of the wise men from the East 
to render him homage, and the star standing over the place 
where the young child lay, would soon, if ever, be forgotten. 
Certainly not in the brief period that intervened between Jus- 
tin Martyr and the Empress Helena. 

That the present Church of the Nativity is the identical one 
built by this empress none will deny. It is the oldest Chris- 
tian church in the world, and many of the forty-eight beautiful 
columns which support the cedar roof were in all probability 
taken from the grand Temple of Solomon on Moriah. 

For fifteen centuries this venerable edifice has stood as a silent 
witness to the fact that in the grotto beneath its altar the " King 
of kings " was born, who brought " good tidings of great joy 

1 Genesis xxxv, 19. 

13 



194 



BIBLE LAKDS. 



to all people and that also on this very site the inn of Beth- 
lehem once stood. 

An eastern inn, or khan, never was a house of entertainment 
in the sense that Americans understand a hotel to be. Such 
accommodations as provision, bed, and other comforts at an inn 
are unknown in the Orient, and belong exclusively to western 
civilization. In the East all travelers carry their own bedding 
and provision with them, and must dress their own food, kindle 
their own fire, and spread their own table. An Oriental inn is 
merely a place of shelter from the storm, or protection from 
robbers, where a man and his beast can safely lodge for the 
night free of charge. A portion of the khan was assigned to 
the beasts, generally one side, 'and travelers who came in late, 
if they found the khan full, would have to make their beds in 
the manger with the horses and camels, as Joseph and Mary 
were forced to do. These caravansaries, or inns, were some- 
times very rude, simply a rough wall built round a house, or 
natural caves in the rocks, as appears to have been the case at 
Bethlehem. Many of these grottoes are still used as stables in 
the neighborhood, and some of them as dwellings by the 
Arabs. 

Until superseded by convents, every village had its khan ;. 
they were also found along the great lines of travel. These 
inns were considered sacred property. ~No invading army ever 
disturbed them. Generally there was but one khan in a place, 
and in a small town like Bethlehem there never could have 
been but one. When once an inn was established, through the 
liberality of some prince or man of wealth, it became public 
property consecrated to hospitality, and could never be appro- 
priated to other purposes. 

We have been thus minute in our description of an Oriental 



ORIENTAL KHAN". 



195 



than because tradition locates the inn of Joseph and Mary at 
Bethlehem on a portion of the estate of Boaz — the old home- 
stead of Obed and Jesse — so that the birthplace of David was 
identical w ith the birthplace of Jesus, his illustrious successor 
and King eternal. ~We visited this place on Christmas eve in 
order to celebrate the great event very near, if not on the very 
spot, where Christ our Lord was born. The weather was mild, 
and on the way we passed several shepherds with their flocks 
of sheep and goats, among which we saw quite a number of 
lambs and kids skipping among the rocks. 

As eighteen centuries before, " there was no room in the inn," 
but by invitation of the Patriarch we stopped at the Armenian 
Convent close by. Our party were the first Americans ever 
entertained by the monks, and our ladies the first women ever 
admitted into the convent. "We were treated with great re- 
spect, and every attention was shown us ; but the thought of 
sitting and sleeping on rich divans in the same city, and very 
near the identical spot, where the infant Saviour once lay upon 
the straw, detracted greatly from the enjoyment of the occasion. 
Still, I considered it a great privilege to be there, and a strange 
feeling came over me as I joined in the midnight service over 
the manger where our blessed Lord, in all probability, once lay 
a helpless babe ; and when we all marched with lighted tapers 
through the old church, and down into the Grotto of the Na- 
tivity chanting the Christmas carol, " Glory to God in the high- 
est," we felt spell-bound, and our hearts re-echoed the senti- 
ment back to heaven ; and when we surrounded the manger, 
and read in characters of gold the inscription beneath the altar 
— Here Jesus Christ was born ! no words can describe my 
emotions. 

Many gold and silver lamps, the votive offerings of royalty, 



196 



BIBLE LANDS. 



are kept continually burning, like vestal fires, over the silver 
star that marks the supposed spot where the Prince was born, 
to " whose kingdom there shall be no end." 

Many other events associated with Bethlehem add greatly tu 
the interest of the place, especially the life and labors of that 
eminent Christian man, St. Jerome, one of the most learned 
and devout fathers of the Church, who, wishing to get as near 
as possible to the fountain of truth, here secluded hhnself from 
the world and performed the immortal service of translating 
the Scriptures from the original text into the Latin, thus giving 
to our world a correct version of the Bible. 

The little cell, cut out of the solid rock, where this good man 
lived and wrote with the trump of God sounding in his ears, 
may still be seen. Here he died and was buried, and here he 
awaits the call of the last trump to a new and endless life. 

What hallowed memories this place awakens ! What influ- 
ences have gone out from this center! What hopes cluster 
around it ! Blot out the associations of Bethlehem and you 
plunge our world into moral darkness, ruin, and death. 

This village was generally called " Bethlehem of Judea " to 
distinguish it from another place of the same name in the tribe 
of Zebulon, 1 and because it was situated in the " hill country 
of Judea," the birthplace of John the Baptist. This mount- 
ainous district extends as far south as Hebron; and it was 
here, among these hills, about four miles west of Bethlehem, 
near the old road leading to Gaza and not far from Philip's 
Fountain, where, according to tradition, the Ethiopian eunuch 
was baptized, that John, the forerunner of Christ, was born. 

There is good authority for believing that Zacharias and 
Elizabeth lived in this neighborhood. The traditional site of 

1 Joshua xix, 15. 



BIRTHPLACE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. 197 



their house is covered by the old Franciscan Convent of St. 
John, which stands on a fruitful ridge in the midst of the 
modern village of Ain Karim. The church of the Convent is 
a massive stone structure, with a graceful dome supported by 
four square pillars. Within, the walls are cased with porcelain 
tiles, and hung with rich drapery of crimson brocatel silk. A 
small circular chapel, or grotto, cut in the natural rock, to 
which you descend by seven steps on the left of the high altar, 
marks the supposed spot of this good man's birth. 

A Latin inscription on a marble slab in the floor states that 
Here the forerunner of our Lord was horn," and the paint- 
ings on the walls give, in part, the details of his eventful life. 
On the right John is represented preaching in the wilderness ; 
on the left baptizing Christ in the Jordan ; and under the 
altar on one side, sculptured beautifully in marble, we have his 
birth ; on the other side his tragic death ; and in the center, 
as an altar-piece, the visit of the Yirgin Mary to her cousin 
Elizabeth, mentioned by St. Luke. My first visit to this 
interesting locality was in company with Dr. Newman and his 
wife. It was a beautiful spring day ; and as we rode over the 
hills, gathering wild flowers here and there by the wayside, we 
could not but feel that perhaps we were riding along the same 
path once trodden by the Mother of our Lord. 

After his birth but little is known of John until he com- 
menced his public ministrations by calling sinners to repentance. 
It is said his father was killed by the monster, Herod, because 
he refused to reveal the hiding-place of his son ; that afterward 
John, for safety, fled into " the wilderness of Judea," a wild, 
desolate region east of his native hills, where he remained " till 
the day of his showing unto Israel." 1 

1 Luke i, 80. 



198 



BIBLE LANDS. 



His great mission was to prepare the nation for the coming 
of the Messiah. His dress was, like that of the old prophets, 
simply a garment of camel's hair fastened with a leathern 
girdle, and his meat "locusts and wild honey." In his lonely 
desert abode, living on this rough fare, and clad in his coarse 
raiment, God was preparing this remarkable man for his great 





WILDERNESS OF JUDEA. 



work, and when his voice was heard in the wilderness, crying, 
"Eepent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" so in- 
tense was the desire to hear him that great multitudes from 
" Jerusalem and all Judea " went out to his preaching. Many 
thought him to be the long-looked-for Messiah, others Elijah, 



LOCUSTS AND WILD HONEY. 



199 



or one of the old prophets returned to earth. Among the 
thousands from all parts who attended his niinistry, Christ also 
came " to be baptized by him,"' for the Son of God mnst fulfill 
the law in this respect before he can enter upon his work as a 
teacher in Israel. And it was on this memorable occasion the 
Father publicly acknowledged his Son, and the Holy Ghost 
visibly descended upon him in the form of a dove. John's 
mission was now fulfilled, his dispensation terminated, and 
soon after he was called to his reward. 

From our observations in the East we are inclined to believe 
that the "locusts and wild honey," referred to as the diet of 
John the Baptist, was the fruit of the carob-tree, and the dibs, 
or honey extracted therefrom. The popular name for this 
tree in Palestine is ,,; the locust/"' and the fruit is known every- 
where as the "bread of St. John." In Arabic it is called 
carob, from the horn-like shape of its pods or fruit, which are 
considered very wholesome, and are always found in the 
markets among the other fruits of the land. These pods are 
sometimes called " husks," and without doubt are the husks the 
Prodigal in his distress would fain have eaten. 

This tree is found all over Palestine. Two may be seen 
growing on the side of Olivet, just above the Garden of Geth- 
semane. It is a dark evergreen, with heavy foliage, affording 
a delightful shade, and bears a crescent-shaped bean, about six 
inches long and one wide. The outside of this bean, when ripe, 
is a dark brown, and does not look unlike the honey-locust of 
.America. The fruit is fed to horses, cattle, and swine, and is a 
common article of food anions; the natives. Traveling through 
the country, our muleteers appeared to live almost upon these 
pods. The trees are generally registered ; property in them 
is capital, and marriage portions are frequently given in 



200 



BIBLE LANDS. 



"locusts," or the fruit of the carob. A grove of these trees is 
considered as valuable as a vineyard or olive grove, and a 
single tree often yields a thousand pounds of pods, which are 
exported in large quantities to Russia and elsewhere. 

The fruit, when ripe, contains a sweet pulp, which is ex- 
pressed and made into a honey called dibs, which is the honey 
in general use . among the peasantry of Palestine. Sometimes, 
when a pod is stung by a bee, honey will ooze from the wound 
and drop to the ground. May not this have been the honey 
Jonathan found in the wood when pursuing the Philistines ? 1 

The Hebrew word debash, which so often occurs in the 
Scriptures, and is translated " honey " in our version, refers 
generally to vegetable honey, distilled as dibs from the pods of 
these trees, or to any sweet glutinous substance, as the syrup 
of grapes and dates. It was this, and not bee-honey, with 
which Israel supplied the market of Tyre, and that Jacob sent 
as a present to Joseph in Egypt. It has the appearance of 
granulated honey, is often used instead of sugar, and is com- 
monly known as " wild honey." As John was an austere man, 
this, more than likely, was the honey he used, bee-honey being 
considered a great delicacy and only eaten by the rich. It is 
also more than probable that the locusts he ate were not the 
insect, but pods of the carob-tree. 

Josephus gives an account of a tutor of his who " lived in 
the desert for many years on food that grew of its own ac- 
cord : " he also mentions "honey exuding from the trees," and 
of living in the wilderness himself for three years, on no other 
meat than that which grew therein. 

John must have been in the desert for several years. The 
insect locust is not common to Palestine. Their visits are re- 

1 1 Samuel xiv, 26. 



FRUIT OF THE CAROB-TREE. 



201 



garded as severe scourges. They come but seldom, often at 
intervals of many years, and only remain for a short time, so 
conld not be relied upon as an article of daily food. 

Those who entertain the opposite view, and contend for the 
insect, confound it with the locust of Arabia, which is eaten in 
that country, but is a diiferent species altogether from the 
locust of Palestine and Mesopotamia. The Arabian locust is a 
large reddish-brown insect, about two and a half inches long, 
thick as your finger, and has " no king." 1 The other is only 
half that size, of a pale green color, like our grasshopper, 2 has 
a leader or queen, the same as bees, and is never eaten, not 
even by the Bedouin of the desert. 

1 Proverbs xxx, 27. 2 Amos vii, 1. 



CHAPTER IX. 



POOLS OF SOLOMON CAVE OF ADULLAM T03EB OF ITEROD. 

Water Supply of Jerusalem — Great Reservoirs — Ancient Aqueducts — Gardens of 
Solomon — Cave of Adullam — David and Saul — Tekoa, the Home of Amos — 
Herodium, the Tomb of Herod. 

THOUGH Jerusalem is situated on one of the highest 
mountain ranges in Palestine, and so far as known has 
neither a spring nor well of living water- within it, few cities 
were ever better supplied with purer or better water. In all 
the protracted sieges the place has undergone the complaint 
was never heard of any scarcity of water. But from the flow 
of water in the Virgin's Fountain, Pool of Siloam, and Joab's 
Well, and from frequent reference in the ancient history of 
Jerusalem to the brook that ran through the "midst of the 
land," and to " the Fountain " or outflowing waters " of Gihon," 
there must have been one or more living streams near the city 
before Hezekiah sealed or stopped up their course " to cut off 
the supply from the Assyrian king ; " and these springs may 
still flow by subterranean channels into the Temple inclosure, 
and through " the "Well of the Leaf," down to " the waters of 
Shiloah that go softly." 1 The city is now entirely supplied with 
rain water caught during the rainy season in rock-hewn cisterns, 
but from numerous large reservoirs of great antiquity, now 
mostly dry, both within and without the walls, the principal 
supply of water must always have been from a distance. Traces 
may still be seen of five broken aqueducts from ten to thirty 

1 Isaiah viii, C. 



POOLS OF SOLOMOjS". 



203 



miles long entering the city from the south, three of which 
connected these ancient reservoirs with the Pools of Solomon. 

These famous pools are situated among the mountains near 
the head of AVady Urtas, three miles south of Bethlehem, and 
drain at least sixty square miles of surface. There are three 
basins of massive masonry in good preservation, measuring in 
the aggregate one thousand three hundred and eighty five feet 
long, by two hundred and thirty-six wide, and about forty feet 
deep. 




SOLOMON'S POOLS. 



Great engineering skill has been displayed in the construc- 
tion of these pools on successive terraces one below another, so 
that the lower one catches the overflow of those above ; and no 
less ingenuity in concealing the sources of the fountains from 
their enemies, and collecting the waters of remote springs in tun- 
nels under the mountains— one of those tunnels being four miles 
long, and connected with secret conduits conveying the fresh, 
cool stream into the Holy City. One of the aqueducts— a por- 



204 



BIBLE LANDS. 



tion of which may be seen near Rachel's Tomb — is constructed 
on the siphonic principle, not curving round the hills on a level, 
as the Romans constructed theirs, but following the elevations 
and depressions of the country. The pipe is made of large 
stones with a hole sixteen inches in diameter drilled through 




SEALED FOUNTAIN. 



them. These blocks are nicely jointed, similar to the cast- 
iron pipes now in use, the sections fitting as snugly as if 
ground into each other, and the whole tube imbedded in rub- 
ble-work and coated with cement mixed with oil, rendering 
it both air and water-tight. Openings were left on the high- 
est points to relieve the pressure when too great. Altogether 
it is a most wonderful piece of workmanship, reflecting great 
credit on the wisdom of Solomon. 



CAVE OF ADULLAM. 



205 



It was also here in this once lovely valley, just below the 
pools, that Solomon satisfied himself in regard to the riches 
and pleasures of this world. Here he built his summer palace, 
to which, Josephus says, he drove in his chariot every morn- 
ing ; here he planted vineyards and gardens and orchards of 
all kinds of fruit, and yielded to the gratification of every 
desire of his heart, " that he might see what was good for the 
sons of men." The Yalley of Etam — now Urtas — is still here, 
well watered, and one of the richest in Palestine. A few 
garden patches along it are still under cultivation, and the 
remains of ancient buildings may still be seen here and there ; 
otherwise, the picture is one of utter desolation ; the palaces 
and pleasure grounds of Solomon are no more, showing the 
correctness of the royal Preacher's conclusion, " Behold, all is 
vanity and vexation of spirit." 1 

A short distance above this, near the old road to Hebron, in 
a cleft of the rocks, is one of the reputed hiding-places of Sam- 
son after avenging himself on the Philistines for the burning 
of his wife, and, what is remarkable, the very name of Etam is 
still applied to some ruins among the rocks close by the 
pools ; and all the natural features of the place agree fully with 
the narrative of Samson's adventure. 

About one and a half hour's ride down the ravine from Sol- 
omon's Pools, and about the same distance east of Bethlehem, 
where the valley assumes the features of a wild gorge cutting 
its way down to the Dead Sea, is the traditional Cave of 
Adullam. 

This is a large natural cavern on the south side of Wady 
Urtas, supposed to be the same to which David fled from the 
King of Gath, and where he probably cut off the skirt of Saul's 

1 Ecclesiastes i, 14. 



206 



BIBLE LANDS. 



garment, as these two events appear to have occurred in the same 
vicinity. It is now known as Khureitun, from Chariton, a 
monk who founded a convent here at an early day ; the old 
name, however, is still retained by the El Dhullam Arabs in 
this neighborhood. 

On our way to this romantic spot we did not follow the val- 
ley, but rode over the hills once the favorite resort of David 
when in charge of his father's flocks, passing many shepherds 
with their sheep and goats, some of them mere lads with their 
slings, others who were older, playing on a rude instrument 
like the clarionet, recalling the comely son of Jesse when a 
shepherd boy on these same hills, and who probably here took 
his first lessons on the sackbut and harp, and composed some 
of those immortal psalms that form so appropriate a part in the 
worship of God. 1 

The cave is in the north face of a precipitous mountain, and 
the only approach to it is along a narrow shelving rock over- 
hanging the dry bed of the stream a hundred feet below. Near 
the entrance a mass of rock has fallen from above, blocking up 
entirely the path, so that no one can now enter without clam- 
bering over this obstruction on hands and knees with great 
difficulty, and in constant danger of slipping off into the chasm 
beneath. 

The mouth of the cave is very narrow, admitting only one 
person at a time ; however, once within, ample room is found 
for double the number that at any one time were with David 
in his hiding-place. From the entrance winding galleries lead 
in different directions, and opening out of these are many small 
grottoes where a man could easily conceal himself, and cut off 

1 Psalms cxlii and cxliii were probably written in this cave, being " the prayer of 
David when in the cave." 



CAVE OF ADULLAM. 



the garment or head of an enemy without being seen. About 
fifty feet from the main entrance you come to a grand hall over 
one hundred feet long by perhaps fifty feet wide and thirty feet 
high, looking very much like an old Gothic church, the vaulted 
ceiling of which was covered with bats. Several passages 




THE CAVE OF ADULLA.M. 



branch off from this chamber to others of less dimension ; one of 
these passage ways, through which you must crawl like a serpent 
in the dust, with torch in hand, and almost suffocated from the 
heat and smoke, brings you to a room with an opening in the 



208 



BIBLE LAXDS. 



floor down which you drop about ten feet into another large hall, 
with something like a cistern in the center, now filled up with 
the bones of different animals. May not this have been " the 
hold " of Israel's anointed king referred to by David ? 1 Other 
galleries lead from this apartment to halls still more remote, 
seemingly without end, which we did not explore as we had 
reached the ' " end of our rope," and dare not venture beyond 
its length, as our guides assured us we could go on until we 
heard the smiths of Hebron hammering over our heads. TTe 
found the cave dry and the air pure, though strongly tainted 
with the smell of jackals, hyenas, and other wild beasts, that 
find in its numerous grottoes a warm and safe retreat, making 
its exploration rather dangerous as you have to advance very 
cautiously, with revolver in hand, not knowing what moment 
you may meet with some ferocious, half -starved beast. 

This has long been regarded as the veritable Cave of Adullam : 
though, of course, in a country where caves abound, it is impos- 
sible to fix with certainty on any particular one. "William of 
Tyre locates Adullam six miles east of Bethlehem toward the 
Dead Sea, which is the exact distance and locality of this cave. 
David, also, must have been familiar with every spot in this 
wild region, as it was here he smote " the Hon and the bear " 
when he kept his father's "few sheep in the wilderness ; " and 
he would naturally seek refuge in some favorite haunt among 
"the rocks of the wild goats," where his knowledge of the coun- 
try would add greatly to his security. 

Some locate the cave near the supposed city of Adullam in 
the plain country of Judah. There is, however, nothing in 
the text to warrant the location of the cave near the city of that 
name, even if the site of the old city could be identified ; and 

1 1 Samuel xxii, 4. 



HIDING-PLACE OF DAVID. 



209 



it is not likely that David would select a retreat so near his 
enemies, where he could not possibly hope to conceal himself 
and four hundred followers for any length of time. Then, 
no cave near Gath, or on the plains of Philistia, would meet the 
conditions of the narrative, for it appears that " when his breth- 
ren and all his father's house," who lived at Bethlehem, heard 
that he was in the Cave of Adullam, " they went down thither 
to him," 1 which could not truthfully be said of any cave west of 
the mountains of Judea. It was from Adullam he took his 
aged parents for protection to " Mizpeh of Moab," beyond Jor- 
dan, which he could not have done from the plain country with- 
out passing through the lines of the Philistines. It was also 
when here that the three mighty men came down to him, and 
brought him water from " the well of Bethlehem, that was by 
the gate," which they could easily do from the locality we have 
named, but not in any reasonable length of time from beyond 
the mountains near Gath, as the whole distance traversed, near 
forty miles there and back, would have been through the ene- 
my's country. From the whole narrative it appears that Adul- 
lam was a large natural cave below Bethlehem, in the wilder- 
ness' of Judea. So the small artificial caves near some ruins, 
supposed to be those of the city of Adullam, not far from 
Gath, do not meet a single condition of the scriptural account. 

From here, David, after his return from Moab, went into 
" the wilderness of Maon," a day's journey to the south of this, 
" and dwelt in strong-holds at Engedi," on the borders of the 
Dead Sea ; after which he probably returned to Adullam, as 
Saul found him here on his way to Engedi. It will be observed 
that the place where David and Saul met was not at Engedi, 
but " by the way " 2 to Engedi. And the cave we have been 

1 1 Samuel xxii, 1. 2 1 Samuel xxiv, 3. 

14 



210 



BIBLE LANDS. 



describing is on the direct road from Bethlehem to Engedi, 
and meets all the conditions of the case better than any other. 

On the hill directly above the cave of Adullam is Tekoa r 
the birthplace of the Prophet Amos, who in his defense before 
the king, when accused of troubling Israel, meekly said : " I 
was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son, but I was a 
herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit ; 1 and the Lord 
took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, 
prophesy unto my people Israel." 2 Xo doubt, on these very 
hills this faithful servant of the Lord often gathered wild figs,, 
and pastured his herds and flocks, and in some one of the many 
rock-cut tombs in the neighborhood his ashes still repose, await- 
ing the hour when all who sleep in the dust of the earth shall 
awake to life again. 

About midway between Adullam and Bethlehem, half a 
mile north of TTady Urtas, is a remarkable truncated cone, 
overlooking the Wilderness of Judea and Yalley of the Jordan 
for many miles. The natives call it Jebel Fureidis — " Hill of 
Paradise/'' but it is more generally known as the Prank Mount- 
ain, or Heroclium. Herod, according to Josephus, built a strong 
fortress and splendid palace not far from Tekoa, and sixty 
stadia, or about eight miles, from Jerusalem ; which agrees pre- 
cisely with this site. The cone rises from a high plateau, and 
its upper section, of perhaps one hundred and fifty feet, ap- 
pears to be artificial, the ascent to which was by a marble stair- 
case on the north side, traces of which still remain. There- 
may also have been a secret entrance from below and up 
through the interior, as the top is deeply sunken in the center,, 
like a great well-hole. The only ruins to be seen on the sum- 

1 The sycamore tree of Palestine bears a fruit called by the natives \rild fig*. 
" 3 Amo> vii, 14. 



FRANK MOUNTAIN, OR IIERODIUM. 



211 



mit are two walls built in a perfect circle of beveled stones, 
one witliin the other, thirty feet apart, the outer one about one 
thousand feet in circumference, the inner one seven hundred 
and fifty feet, with circular towers at the four cardinal points, 
forty feet in diameter, beneath which are vaults and other sub- 
terranean works. At the base of the hill are extensive ruins of 
other fortifications and palaces, and a large square reservoir 
with the remains of a building in the center, perhaps a swim- 
ming bath. These are, without doubt, the ruins of the once 
magnificent palace and tomb of Herod the Great. 

But little is known of the ancestry of the Herodian family. 
From the most reliable authority their origin was very obscure, 
Antipater, the father of Herod L, being the son of a slave taken 
prisoner at Ascalon by Idumean robbers. At least the family 
came from Idumea, and were Jews only by conquest and 
adoption. Herod the Great, when quite young, was made 
governor of Galilee under Julius Csesar, and afterward ap- 
pointed king of Judea by Marc Antony B.C. 40. 

Though cruel and bitter toward his enemies, he was a man 
of great energy and foresight, and did more for the develop- 
ment of his country than any of his successors. He was am- 
bitious to leave great monuments of his power to posterity, 
and to establish a kingdom equal in splendor and extent to 
Solomon's, but not on a religious basis — using Judaism merely 
as a bond of union to hold his kingdom together. 

Fond of ostentation and display, he was lavish in the distri- 
bution of his means ; courting the favor of Csesar by founding 
cities in honor of his name ; of the Jews, by enlarging and 
beautifying their temple ; and. of the people in general, by 
building palaces and public edifices of every kind, the remains 
of which are among the grandest ruins to be found in Palestine 



212 



BIBLE LANDS. 



to-day. A man of strong passions, vain, unscrupulous, and 
selfish, he hesitated not to rob the tomb of David, and put to 
death all the Sanhedrin who opposed his measures. He also, 
under suspicions of intrigue, caused the death of his favorite 
wife and three of his own sons, and with the children of Beth- 
lehem would have slain the Saviour of our world but for divine 
interposition. Beneficent, but brutish, he showed great con- 
tempt for public opinion, treated his subjects as mere slaves, 
and even planned the massacre of the principal men of his 
court in the event of his own death, that the whole nation 
might be thrown into mourning. After reigning over forty 
years he died a most terrible death at Jericho, about two years 
after the birth of Christ, and was buried in great pomp in his 
royal tomb at Herodium. 

Thus Herod the Great passed away from earth ; his kingdom, 
also, has long since fallen to pieces. Of all his public works 
not a city, fortress, or palace remains to perpetuate his name. 
Scarcely a stone of his grand mausoleum is left, and the jackals 
that burrow in his grave have long ago scattered his ashes to 
the four winds of heaven ; while the infant King he sought to 
destroy still lives, and reigns, and shall forever live and reign, 
for of " his kingdom there shall be no end." 



CHAPTER X. 



HEBRON CAVE OF MACHPELAH BEER-SHEBA. 

A.ncient City of Arba — Plain of Mamre — Valley of Eshcol — Oak of Abraham — 
Cave of Machpelah — Tomb of the Patriarchs — Solemn Reflections — Beer- 
Sheba — Kadesh-Barnea — Merabah-Kadesh — The Smitten Rock. 

~ATO city on earth can claim such a long continuous history as 
-L 1 Hebron ; certainly the oldest populated city in Palestine, 
if not in the world. Before Rome, or Nineveh, or Memphis, 
Hebron was. It is mentioned even before Damascus, and on 
the best authority, "was built seven years before Zoan in 
Egypt," the Tanis of the Greeks. Zoan has been in ruins for 
two thousand years, its very site is in dispute, while Hebron 
looks as fresh and thriving as any modern Oriental city. It ap- 
pears also to have had a still more remote antiquity, being 
originally known as Kirjath-Arba — -the " City of Arba," the 
father of Anak, from whom sprang the powerful race known 
as giants, who occupied the land in the days of Joshua and 
Caleb. 

It is difficult to conceive of a community existing through 
so many ages, marked by so many social, religious, and political 
changes — of a city, still astir with life, that must have been 
standing long before Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites, and 
before a verse of the Bible was written ; and the possibility of 
identifying, after so long a period, the city where David was 
crowned king over all Israel, the valley where the spies cut 
the great "cluster of grapes," the plain where the tent of 
Abraham was pitched when he entertained the angels, and the 



214 



BIBLE LANDS. 



very cave of Maclipelali where the ashes of the patriarchs 
repose, seems incredulous. And yet, all these places, so 
fraught with interest, are still here, and may be visited any day. 

Hebron is beautifully situated in the Yalley of Eshcol, among 
olive groves and vineyards, and near the summit of the high- 
est ranges of the Judean Mountains. This fruitful valley is 
still noted for its fine grapes, single " clusters " of which may 
still be found here that would require two men to carry. 

The present name of the city was probably given in com- 
pliment to Abraham, the Arabic meaning of Hebron being the 
City of the " Friend of God," Abraham having settled here 
soon after parting with his nephew, Lot, on their return from 
Egypt. Here he abode for many years, here Isaac also lived, 
and here Sarah died. 

The associations of the place were enough to inspire the 
heart of the venerable Caleb with courage ; and it is no wonder, 
that he, after the conquest of the country, when tendered the 
first choice of the whole land, selected this, the roughest por- 
tion, as an inheritance for himself and family.' 

About one mile up the Yalley of Eshcol, north of Hebron, 
and the only point in the neighborhood that overlooks the 
Yalley of the Dead Sea, or from which the smoke of burning 
Sodom could be seen, is the plain, or more properly the 
grove, of Mamre, only another name for Hebron, the first per- 
manent home of the patriarchs in Canaan. 

Near the foundations of some very old buildings may still 
be seen the grand old " Oak of Abraham ;" not a terebinth, but 
a sturdy, evergreen oak, with broad-spreading branches ; a beau- 
tiful symbol of the patriarch whose name it bears, and whose 
spotless life, after the lapse of ages, is still fresh and green in 
the memory of the Church. The tree will girt over twenty 



ABRAHAM'S OAK. 



215 



feet, is very much like the oaks on Carmel and in the forests 
of Bashan, and if not the identical one under which the Jews 
were sold by their Roman conquerors after the fall of Bether, 
it certainly marks the spot, and is a descendant of the famous 
grove in which Abraham and Sarah pitched their tent near 
four thousand years ago. 




OAK OF ABRAHAM. 

But the point of greatest interest about Hebron is the Field 
and Cave of Machpelah, purchased by Abraham from " Ephron 
the Hittite" as a place of sepulture for himself and family. 
There can be no reasonable doubt in reference to the locality 
of this tomb ; all history and tradition fix it exactly where 
pointed out, within the walls of the great mosque, which the 



216 



BIBLE LANDS. 



Mohammedans guard with religious jealousy as one of their 
four holy places, and is known among them as the Haram, and 
Castle of Abraham. The name Machpelah would indicate 
a double cave, and we were told by the sheik of the mosque — a 
personal friend on whose word we could rely — that under the 
elevated platform of the Haram there are two large natural 
grottoes, one- above the other; that the patriarchs and their 
wives were buried in the lower one, and that the upper one 
is also full of human bones, which is more than probable, as it 
was the custom of the old Israelites to gather the bones of 
their forefathers from all parts of the land and deposit them in 
or near this mausoleum of their great ancestor. 

The walls inclosing this sacred spot tower above every thing 
else, and are the most conspicuous objects in the city. They 
are about seven hundred feet in circuit, ornamented with pilas- 
ters without capitals, and of great strength ; agreeing in every 
respect with the description given by Josephus, and are evi- 
dently of Jewish or Phoenician workmanship. Jewish tradition 
attributes them to David, which is very possible, as this was 
his royal city and the capital of Judah, down to the capture of 
the " Castle of Zion " from the Jebusites. 

The mosque, which stands r*t the southern end of this in- 
closure, appears to have been built for a Christian church 
during the Justinian age, and beyond doubt covers the tomb 
which contains all that remains on earth of the chosen progeni- 
tors of the nation, through whom, in the fullness of time, came 
the Messiah of our world. Christians are not admitted into the 
cave — scarcely allowed to touch the outer wall — alid the Mo- 
hammedans, owing to their great reverence for the dead, con- 
nected with the superstitious dread of the place, seldom or 
never enter it; many entertaining the idea that whoever 



CAVE OF MACHPELAH. 217 

attempts to intrude will be instantly struck with blindness or 
death. 

The question as to whether the embalmed body of Jacob is 
still here must for the present remain unsettled, as we have 
no reliable account of any one ever going beyond the entrance 
to the cave, and no one is likely to do so soon, as the door 
leading to it is now securely closed. The Prince of Wales and 
a few others have been admitted into the mosque, but no 
further. The six cenotaphs here seen are nothing more than 
coffin-shaped shrines representing the real tombs that are in the 
grotto below. The first you come to on entering the mosque, 
in a little chapel to the right, cased with marble and closed 
with silver gates, is the shrine of Abraham ; and directly oppo- 
site, to the left, Sarah's, in a similar chapel, both covered with 
green velvet drapery embroidered with gold. Two other 
chapels, near the center of the mosque, contain memorials of 
Isaac and Rebekah. The shrines of Jacob and Leah are in a 
cloister opposite the entrance, at the farther end of the court. 
A small hole in the marble floor near the shrine of Abraham, 
through which a lamp is suspended said to be kept constantly 
burning, is the only opening to the cavern below; and as 
you peer down into the darkness thousands of prayers written 
on little slips of paper, may be seen lying around thrown 
through this hole, under the superstitious belief that all prayers 
offered here will be surely answered. In the floor at the other 
end of the mosque, to the right of the nave, is a marble trap- 
door, large enough to admit a man, and apparently leading to 
the cave below. This door is now closed with iron clamps, 
and concealed with Persian rugs. The probability is a stair- 
case leads from here down to the tombs, but is no longer used. 
All the natural features of this locality, together with the 



218 



BIBLE LANDS. 



Moslem traditions concerning these shrines, and the religious 
awe with which they approach them, agree remarkably with 
the biblical narrative, and it is impossible for the devout 
mind to contemplate the events that have transpired here, 
without feeling the force and truth of the Psalmist's declara- 
tion, " Surely the righteous shall be in everlasting remem- 
brance." 

As we sat in the grove near the city, under the shade of an 
olive-tree, absorbed in meditation, what recollections of the 
past were awakened. There was Mamre, the favorite camping- 
ground of the patriarchs, where the Chaldean shepherd sat 
in the door of his tent and served his hasty meal in the cooling 
shade to the angels who honored him with their visit. Down 
the valley yonder winds the path along which Joseph, the 
Hebrew, must have traveled, after being sold by his brethren 
to the Midianites. And down the same Yalley of Eshcol Jacob 
also, in after years, must have journeyed on his way to Egypt, 
to see his long-lost son. Here, too, by the road-side, is an 
ancient pool, looking old enough to be the same over which 
David caused the murderers of Ish-bosheth to be hung. And 
just beyond the pool on the hill-side facing the west, is " the 
Field of Ephron," and Cave of Machpelah, probably the only 
piece of ground Abraham ever owned in fee, purchased as 
a family tomb on the occasion of Sarah's death, she being the 
first to occupy it ; then Abraham himself was buried there, 
his sons Isaac and Ishmael performing the ceremony. Next, in 
a good old age, Isaac was gathered unto his people, and buried 
there with his parents ; and after him Rebekah and Leah were 
laid in the shades of this same tomb. The last solemn service 
of this character performed here excelled all others in magni- 
tude and pomp. Jacob had gone clown to Egypt and become 



TOMB OF THE PATRIARCHS. 



221 



the father of a numerous family. Joseph was next to Pharaoh 
in position, and when his father died there was great lamenta- 
tion, the highest honors were paid Israel, his body was em- 
balmed, and with all the pageantry of royalty, attended by horse- 
men, chariots, and a great multitude of mourners, they brought 
his remains up to Hebron, and laid him with his kindred 
in the cave of Machpelah, where possibly his body may yet be 




WELL OF ABRAHAM. 



found undisturbed and uncorrupted. What a find that would 
be ! One has strange feelings standing by the grave of such 
men as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; men who lived so many 
ages ago ; men who communed face to face with J ehovah, and 
through whom all the nations of the earth are to be blessed. 

Twenty miles south of Hebron, on the undulating plain of 
rich pasture lands lying between the hill country of Judea and 
the Desert, is Beer-sheba, one of the old landmarks defining 
the southern boundary of Palestine. 

Abraham removed here from Hebron soon after the destruo 



BIBLE LANDS. 



tion of the cities of the plain. It was here he " planted a grove," 
and dug the celebrated well that still bears his name. This well 
is over twelve feet in diameter and not less than fifty feet deep, 
mostly hewn out of the solid rock, with many deep grooves in 
its coping, worn by the friction of the ropes in drawing water 
through so many centuries. There are other wells and cisterns 
in the vicinity, but the two principal ones, supposed to be the 
same dug by Abraham and Isaac, are still in good condition, 
containing an abundant supply of water, abiding witnesses to 
the eventful lives of these two illustrious men. 

This is still a nomadic country, just what it was in the days 
of Abraham, and the wandering Arabs may still be seen water- 
ing their flocks and herds out of the old stone troughs that 
stand around these ancient wells, antique enough in appearance 
to have been used by the patriarchs themselves. 

Abraham was living here during that severe trial of his faith 
when called upon to render his only son as a burnt-offering 
unto the Lord. Whether this was the birthplace of Isaac or 
not, we know it was here he married his beautiful Rebekah, 
and here Jacob and Esau were born. This, also, is the scene of 
the final expulsion of Hagar and her son. And the history of 
this woman, which still lives in the traditions of the country r 
is another illustration of the truthfulness of the Scriptures. 
Ishmael, her discarded son, has become " a great nation." His 
descendants are wild men still, " their hand against every man, 
and every man's hand against them," dwelling in the presence 
of their brethren, " yet repelling every effort to civilize them." 

Whether Kadesh-Barnea, the camping ground of the Israel- 
ites on the borders of Canaan, was the name of a place or dis- 
trict has not been determined, neither has its locality been 
satisfactorily established. There is a fountain in "Wady Jeib r 



KADESH-BARNEA. 



'2-23 



two clays' journey south-east of Beer-sheba, within the borders 
of Edom, that meets all the requirements of the site, and more 
than likely marks the scene of Israel's rebellion and great 
provocation when the spies brought back their unfavorable 
report of the land. 

This. also, would be Meribah-Kadesh, and these running 
brooks, "the waters of Merrbah," where Miriam, the sister of 
Closes, died, and where the offense was committed which ex- 
cluded the great prophet and lawgiver from the Promised 
Land. In one place the waters issue from a cleft of the rock, 
appropriately symbolizing the Rock smitten on Calvary, pour- 
ing out his life-blood for a famishing world. 




THE SMITTEN KOCK. 



CHAPTER XL 



THE LAND OF THE PHILISTINES. 

An Extinct Race — Early Settlers Canaanites — Her Royal Cities — Site of G-ath, 
Gaza, Askelon, Ekron, Ashdod — Fulfillment of Prophecy — Scene of Samson's 
Exploits — Slaughter of the Philistines — Pulls Down the House of Dagon — 
Our Adventures in this Land. 

THE decay of cities and nations seem as inevitable as the 
decay of individuals and families. Traveling through the 
East you every- where meet with the vestiges of an earlier civil- 
ization, in broken columns, pieces of sculpture, beautiful tombs, 
and the remains of once populous cities now entirely deserted 
and silent as the grave. 

We were never more forcibly impressed with the instability 
of every thing worldly than during a late visit to " the land of 
the Philistines," which includes the great maritime plain lying 
between the Judean hills and Mediterranean Sea, and extend- 
ing from Carmel on the north to " the borders of Egypt " on 
the south. 

This country, generally known as the Plain of Philistia, in 
natural fertility is unsurpassed ; but the powerful nation that 
once occupied it lias long since become extinct. 

The early settlers of Philistia, as the name imports, were 
strangers or foreigners, whose origin is involved in much ob- 
scurity. When Abraham first pitched his tent in the " south 
country," he found the Philistines there. Some suppose they 
were of the Pephaim stock or family of giants from east of 
the Jordan, but from the Mosaic genealogy it appears more 



AN EXTINCT EACE. 



225 



probable they came from Egypt, and were the descendants of 
Canaan, the fourth son of Ham. Hence, to distinguish them 
from the Amorites, or those living in the Hill Country, they 
were called Canaanites, or dwellers in the Lowlands — a name 
that was afterward given to all the inhabitants of Palestine. 
The country, however, did not derive its name from its natural 
features, but from Canaan, the progenitor of the people who 
first settled the /Shefelah, or low district along the coast, and 
have stamped their ancestor's name on the entire land. 

The Hyksos, or shepherds expelled from Egypt, are also sup- 
posed to have emigrated here at a later period. 

Though the Philistines by descent were Hamites, their lan- 
guage seems to have been Semitic, as the patriarchs, without 
an interpreter, appear to have had no difficulty in communi- 
cating with them as with the Egyptians ; and all the names and 
other traces of the language thus far discovered, prove it to 
have been identical with the Hebrew. The only explanation 
of which is, that probably a portion of the country was first 
occupied by the descendants of Shem, and that the Canaan- 
ites, when they settled in the land, adopted the common lan- 
guage of the country : or the two families may have retained a 
knowledge of the original language, which was substantially 
the same as the Hebrew and Phoenician. 

The Philistines were a tall, well-proportioned, warlike peo- 
ple, living in well-built cities, going to war in "chariots of 
iron," armed with helmets, shields, swords, and other weapons 
of artistic workmanship, when " there was not a smith in all 
the land of Israel ; " 1 and were always a great scourge to the 
Israelites, invading and spoiling their territory at pleasure. 

Philistia was within the bounds of the Promised Land, and 

1 1 Samuel xiii, 19. 

15 



226 



BIBLE LANDS. 



after the conquest properly belonged to Jndah and Dan, but 
the Hebrews, except for short intervals, were never able to hold 
it. Occupying a country unequaled in its productiveness, and 
being situated on the direct route between Asia and Africa, 
their opulent cities became a coveted prize to ambitious mon- 
archs, and their rich plains the great battle-field of contesting 
armies. The Assyrians, in their invasions of Egypt, had to 
traverse this territory. Alexander the Great, after taking Gaza 
by storm and putting its inhabitants to the sword, devastated 
the whole land. During the Egyptian, Syrian, and Jewish wars, 
the country was frequently overrun by hostile armies, until the 
nation fell under Eoman rule and was despoiled by the Csesars 
forever of its glory. Since then the Philistines have had no 
national existence, but have gradually become absorbed by the 
Bedouin tribes of the Desert on their south, until one of the 
most powerful and highly-civilized nations of Asia has been 
blotted out entirely from the earth. 

The government of Philistia appears to have been a federal 
union composed of five districts or provinces, in each of which 
there was a royal city ruled by a powerful lord or chief, of 
whom the lord of Gath was king. Erom these fortified cities 
they made frequent incursions into the land of Israel, and it was 
not until after David's successful encounter with their champion, 
Goliath, and the utter defeat of their army by Abner, that they 
were finally subdued and became tributary to Israel. The names 
of all these cities except Gath have been preserved, and the 
site of that place is now tolerably well established at Tell es 
Safieh, a conical hill rising perhaps two hundred feet above 
the surrounding plain, and commanding a view of all the other 
royal cities. The site is about ten miles east of Ashdod, be- 
tween Shoco and Ekron, and agrees exactly with the locality as 



HER ROYAL CITIES G-ATH AXD GAZA. 



227 



given by Eusebius. Some ancient cisterns and rock-cut tombs, 
together with the remains of some old fortifications on the 
summit, and many fragments of columns, some with capitals 
richly carved, show that it was a place of considerable impor- 
tance, and in all probability it is the city of Goliath, and where 
David found an asylum when driven by Saul from his own 
people. 

Gaza was situated near the sea on the southern border of 
Philistia. It is mentioned among the first cities built after the 
flood, and was the stronghold of the Anakim — a race of power- 
ful men who dwelt there before Joshua conquered the country. 
That it was a place of great strength may be inferred from the 
fact that Alexander, after the fall of Tyre, only succeeded in 
taking it after a five months' siege. 

The modern city contains a population of sixteen thousand, 
and appears to be built on a low, natural ridge, which, however, 
is nothing more than the accumulated rubbish of successive 
cities on the same spot, literally a mountain of rubbish — broken 
pillars and walls of massive masonry cropping out of the sand 
every-where. The great mosque, with its tall minaret, that 
crowns the hill, is the most interesting building in the place : 
originally a pagan temple, afterward a Jewish synagogue, then 
a Christian church, and now dedicated to Islamism. Cut in 
bass-relief on one of the ancient marble columns in this mosque 
is a beautiful representation of the seven-branched golden can- 
dlestick, with the sacrificial knife hanging from one of the 
branches. 

The houses here, as in the East generally, are built of stone, 
with flat roofs called terraces, on which the inmates sleep, eat, 
and promenade during the summer, and where all entertain- 
ments are given. The house-top of an ordinary dwelling will 



228 



BIBLE LJlXDS. 



hold conveniently live hundred persons, and there are churches 
and mosques in Palestine on the roofs of which you could stand 
from two to five thousand people. These terraces are sup- 
ported by arches or pillars, and often so constructed that the 
removal of a single column would cause the whole house to 
topple over, there being nothing to bind the building together 
after the supports are removed. So we can clearly see how 
Samson pulled down the temple of Dagon, and can easily 
account for the great loss of life on that occasion. 




RUINS OF ASKELON. 



Askelon, ten miles north of Gaza, was the sea-port of Pkilis- 
tia. Nothing, however, remains of this royal city but portions 
of the massive walls and ruins — vast heaps of ruins greater than 
Baalbec, or any other ruins in. Syria ; not a house, palace, or 
building of any kind standing — all desolation, and quiet as the 
grave ; the sands of the desert rapidly entombing the famous 
city of the Syrian "Venus. 

Ekron, celebrated for the worship of Beelzebub, stood in the 
center of the plain north of the beautiful "Valley of the Surar, 
the ancient Sorek/ where Samson was betrayed by the infamous 
Delilah. The place at present consists of a few mud huts — 
filthy, poor, wretched, not a vestige of royalty left. A largo 



BIRTH-PLACE OF SAMSON. 



229 



deep well and some fragments of broken columns are about all 
that is left of this once royal city. 

Midway between here and Askelon, on a low, rounded hill 
overlooking the sea, is the site of ancient Ashdod, another of 
the royal cities, and where Dagon fell down before the ark of 
the Lord. A few sculptured stones and mud hovels, surrounded 
by the richest farming lands, and in the midst of beautiful 
groves of olives, figs, and pomegranates, mark the site of the 
renowned city that withstood for twenty-nine years the whole 
power of Egypt — the longest siege on record. 

When we consider the present desolate condition of these 
cities, how forcibly we are reminded of the prophecy concern- 
ing them : " Gaza shall be forsaken, and Askelon a desolation ; 
they shall drive out Ashdod at the noonday, and Ekron shall 
be rooted up. "Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast — the 
land of the Philistines; I will even destroy thee, that there 
shall be no inhabitant." 1 

On a high conical hill overlooking the whole plain of Philis- 
tia, and about three miles north of Bethshemesh, is the Arab 
village of Surah, the Zorah of the Bible, where Samson, the 
son of Manoah, was born. 2 A welly or tomb, of some unknown 
person, inclosing a beautiful palm-tree, crowns the hill-top, and 
a very ancient square well in the valley a little north of the 
village, round which some ruins may still be seen, mark the 
early home of Israel's famous judge ; and without doubt, on 
some one of the many rocks that here crop out of the hill-side, 
Manoah the Danite was offering his sacrifice when " the angel 
of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar toward heaven." 3 

In stature Samson probably was no larger than other men 
of his tribe, but, being raised up for the deliverance of his peo- 

1 Zephaniah ii, 4. 2 Judges xiii, 2. 3 Judges xiii, 20. 



230 



BIBLE LANDS. 



pie, who for forty years had been oppressed by the Philistines, 
the Lord at times endowed him with miraculous strength, as he 
did Solomon in after years with divine wisdom. And though 
" his strength " is said to have gone " from him " when shorn 
of his lochs, we are not to suppose that his power was in his 
hair, but, having now broken his vow as a Nazarite, he lost the 
favor of God. 

Samson's first exploit was when he tore to pieces the young 
lion that roared against him on his way to Thnnath, where he 
married his first wife — a village of the Phihstines, now in 
ruins, about five miles to the south-west of Zorah. It was here, 
during his wedding festival, that he propounded his well-known 
riddle. 1 And on the extensive plain to the west of this are 
the cornfields of the Phihstines he destroyed with his foxes, 
or, more properly, jackals. The jackals of Syria very much 
resemble the American red fox, and are still found in great 
numbers in this section ; and it would be no very difficult mat- 
ter at the present day to catch, or secure in some other way, 
three or four hundred, and turn them loose among the standing 
barley and wheat with the same effect. 

In ear this, also, is the hill of Lehi, the jaw-bone, so-called 
from its peculiar shape, where Samson with the jaw-bone of 
an ass slew a thousand of his enemies. It is a barren, rocky 
ridge, in shape resembling a jaw-bone, about midway between 
Jarmuth and Timnath, and, what is singular, it is still called by 
the natives Kheishun, which signifies nose, or cheek-bone. And 
the traditional fountain that sprung, not from the jaw-bone with 
which Samson slew the Phihstines, but from the hill of Lehi, 
is still pointed out in a cleft of this rocky ridge. 2 

After many other adventures, showing his moral weakness in 

1 Judges xiv, 14. 2 Judges xv„ 14-19. 



EXPLOITS OF SAMSON. 



231 



strange contrast with his physical prowess, and, after judging 
Israel twenty years, Samson, through the intrigue of an infa- 
mous woman, was captured by the Philistines, who, after putting 
out his eyes and binding him with fetters of brass, took him 
down to Gaza, whose gates he before had carried away, where, 
in his blindness and humiliation, he was compelled to grind at 
the prison mill, and make sport for his enemies. An oppor- 
tunity was finally given him to prove once more his strength, 
and avenge his wrongs. " All the lords of the Philistines," and 
thousands of men and women, were assembled at Gaza to offer 
sacrifices unto Dagon, their god. There was great rejoicing on 
account of the capture of Samson, and all were anxious to see 
the wonderful man who so long had been such a terror to their 
nation. Samson was brought forth from his prison to amuse 
the multitude, and, taking hold of the two middle pillars that 
supported the temple, " bowed himself with all his might ; and 
the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were 
therein, so the dead which he slew at his death were more than 
they which he slew in his life. Then his brethren and all 
the house of his father came down, and took him and brought 
him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the 
burying-place of Hanoah his father." 1 

And what at least is very curious, during the last summer 
there was found in an old rock-hewn tomb near Zorah a large 
terra-cotta cofiin covered with sheet-lead one third of an inch 
thick, on which there was an inscription of several lines in old 
Hebrew, containing what appeared to be the name of Samson, 
and something more we could not make out owing to the cor- 
roded state of the lead. Could this be the tomb of Manoah's 
son ? Nothing was found in the casket but dust and ashes. 

1 Judges xvi, 30, 31. 



232 



BIBLE LANDS. 



After a visit of unusual interest to the scenes of Samson's 
exploits we started for Shoco, down the valley of Elah, passing 
the scene of David's encounter with Goliath, expecting to find 
our tents at Gath. Night overtook us at Azekah, where Joshua 
slew the five kings of the Amorites. Still we pressed on over 
the rich, undulating plain, startled occasionally by the bark of 
the jackal, and doleful shriek of " the night monster." After 
two hours' hard riding, seeing light ahead, we were greatly de- 
lighted, thinking, of course, it was our camp fire, but soon dis- 
covered the mistake, and found, much to our dismay, that we 
were riding into a den of Bedouin robbers. Quietly withdraw- 
ing, we resumed our lonely journey, and about nine o'clock 
reached G-ath, but, to our great disappointment, our tents were 
not there ; so, hungry and tired, we rode into the once royal 
city of the Philistines. At first we found difficulty in getting 
into any house, and had about concluded to spend the night in 
the streets, when a soldier from Jerusalem, recognizing me, took 
us into the best house in the place ; nothing more, however, 
than a mud hovel, walls, floor, roof, all mud, without windows 
or ventilation of any kind. After partaking of some eggs and 
Arab bread we were shown to our quarters for the night ; but 
O, such quarters ! It was a large room with a raised platform 
at one end, on the earthen floor of which we were to sleep with- 
out bed or covering. Taking our saddles for pillows, with the 
horses, mules, and donkeys all in the same room, we stretched 
ourselves out on the floor, hoping to find some rest ; but, " tell it 
not in Gath," no sooner had we lain down than myriads of 
fleas and other vermin began their bloody work, and though we 
fought them bravely, and slew our thousands, thousands more 
came to the attack, until, finally, we were driven from our 
position, only too glad to escape with our lives. 



CHAPTER XII. 



SEA-COAST OF PALESTINE. 

Plain of Sharon — Csesarea — Athlit — Grand Ruins — Haifa German Colony — Acre, 
or Ancient Accho — Napoleon's First Repulse — Pasha El Jezzar — Tyre and 
Sidon — Hiram's Tomb — Interesting Discovery. 

BORDERING Philistia on the north is the plain of Sharon, 
anciently a part of Philistia, extending from the sea back 
to the Mountains of Ephraim, about fifteen miles, and along the 
coast from Jaffa to Carmel, once the garden of Palestine, but 
now almost deserted, and seldom visited by tonrists. This is 
owing mainly to the dangerous character of the Bedouin tribes 
that roam over this rich plain, and still claim possession of the 
land. The distance by the coast is about fifty miles, and along 
the whole route are to be found the ruins of many cities whose 
histories have been lost in the general desolation of the coun- 
try. A few places, such as Csesarea, Tantura, and Athlit, can 
be identified, but many other remains, equally grand, are with- 
out name or story. 

Among the most extensive and picturesque ruins in Syria 
are those at Athlit — a few miles south of where Carmel juts out 
into the sea — consisting of an old crusading castle and fortress 
of great strength, once the capital of Palestine, and known as 
Castellum Perigrinorum, or Landing-place of the Pilgrims, be- 
ing situated on a low, rocky point projecting into the sea, and 
forming a safe harbor for the knights of the cross. The walls 
of the castle are from eight to twenty feet thick, and in places 
are standing at least seventy-five feet high. The lower and outer 



234 



BIBLE LANDS. 



courses are beveled with bold projections — similar to the oldest 
in the temple wall at Jerusalem, and bound together with leaden 
clamps and heading courses of large dressed stone, so firmly 
that the restless surf beating for many centuries upon them, 
and the shocks of a hundred earthquakes, have failed to disturb 
them. 

The fortress stood on an elevated platform of this massive 
masonry, under which there were great subterranean vaults — 
one on the south two hundred and forty feet long, forty feet 
wide, and thirty high ; another on the east still larger, used, 
perhaps, as store-rooms, and connected by dark, secret gal- 
leries cut through the rock. There was a very fine magazine 
near what appears to have been the office for the receipt of 
customs. It was about one hundred feet long, with groined 
ceiling and richly carved corbels and bosses. When the place 
was abandoned by the Crusaders, in A.D. 1291 — after the fall 
of Acre — they left here written on the wall the sarcastic in- 
scription : " This vault we filled with raisins ; you will never 
fill it with straw." 

The defenses of the place show great military skill. Every 
approach from the sea was securely guarded by strong towers 
built in the water. On the land side it was protected by a 
double wall, between which was a deep moat that could easily 
be flooded from the sea. Beyond these artificial defenses, run- 
ning parallel with the coast, was a limestone ridge, the face of 
which was so quarried and scarped as to form a third wall of 
living stone. The only entrance to the castle from the main 
land was by a narrow covered way cut for half a 'mile through 
this rocky ridge. The deep ruts worn by the war-chariots may 
still be seen in the solid bed of this road. 1 At the eastern end 

1 Van de Velde thinks these ruts are the remains of a railroad track. 



GERMAN COLONY AT HAIFA. 



235 



of this rock-passage was a massive gate-way flanked by bastions 
and commanded by forts, all cat out of the solid rock in the 
most wonderful manner. This portion of the work evidently 
belongs to a period prior to our era, and doubtless gave to the 
fortress the name it formerly bore — Petra Incisa — " Rock-cut 
Citadel." Beyond this natural barrier there was yet another 
outer wall and a ditch, which, by means of large earthen pipes, 
could be filled with water from the sea, rendering the place 
almost impregnable. 

The origin of this remarkable ruin is lost in the misty past. 
Who laid these massive foundations will probably never be 
known. Neither the Bible nor any ancient historian mentions 
the place. The Greek and Roman writers are all silent on the 
subject. 

We have no reliable history of this ruin beyond the Cru- 
sades ; but from the character of portions of the work, the 
rock-hewn tombs in the vicinity, old coins and other antiques 
found on the spot, it must belong to a much earlier period, 
perhaps the Roman, if not the Phoenician age. It certainly is 
one of the grandest ruins in Palestine, and all who visit it will 
not only be pleased but amazed with the boldness of the con- 
ception and the untiring energy displayed in erecting this once 
formidable fortress on this sea-girt rock. The remains of a well- 
paved road may still be traced, leading from Athlit over Car- 
mel to the cities of Galilee. 

On the plain near Haifa, and under the shadow of Jebel Mar 
Elyas, is the new German colony, which promises to work 
great changes in this land. It is a religious movement for the - 
colonization of Palestine, first organized half a century ago 
at Kcenthal, Germany, by the celebrated Dr. J. A. Bengel, 
author of the Gnomon of the New Testament, and is now 



236 



BIBLE LANDS. 



under the presidency of Herr Christopher Hoffman. They 
call themselves " The Temple," their mission being to build 
up a spiritual temple in the Holy Land. Their first permanent 
settlement in Palestine was effected here in 1868. Since then 
colonies have been planted at Jaffa and Jerusalem, numbering 
in all about eight hundred souls, representing all professions 
and trades. There are quite a number of naturalized citizens 
of the United States among them. They have purchased a 
tract of land, which is divided among the members for cultiva- 
tion, thus rendering the community self-sustaining. Their set- 
tlement here looks very much like a K"ew England village, the 
streets being planted with trees and the houses set back, with 
flower-gardens in front. They have a good hotel, " Hotel du 
Carmel," and school-house ; the latter being used also for public 
worship. On the stone lintel over the entrance to their houses 
you will generally find some text of Scripture ; and morning 
and evening the voice of praise and prayer may be heard in 
almost all their dwellings. All of their buildings are con- 
structed of a very light-colored stone, in the European style, 
with good taste, and in striking contrast with the mud hovels 
of the natives. 

The colonists are an intelligent, hard-working, moral people, 
and cannot fail to exert a salutary influence upon - the native 
population. They are building roads back into the country, 
and have introduced wagons, steam-engines, and improved 
agricultural and other implements. They are running a line 
of carriages from Haifa to Acre ; also from Jaffa to Jerusalem ; 
and last year they imported an American reaper and thresher 
— the first in Palestine, if not in Asia. 

It was very amusing to see the effect produced by these 
machines. Mules were the only animals that could be subdued 



AMERICAN THRESHING-MACHINES. 



237 



and broken in ; horses, oxen, and camels were entirely unman- 
ageable. The peasants seemed even more frightened than the 
beasts ; some would squat down upon the ground and look 
with amazement at the machinery in motion ; others, trembling 
with fear, looked on from a distance, as though Satan was de- 
vouring their crops. The reaper does the work in four hours 
of sixty men in a whole day. The natives, however, think it 
possessed of a devil, because it leaves nothing for the gleaners, 
and cuts the corners of the fields, which the Koran prohibits. 
The threshing-machine does the work of one hundred oxen, 
and does it much better and cheaper. The Mohammedans call 
it the " Christian Thresher," and think it a wonderful inven- 
tion. 

The colonists were divided at first as to the merits of the 
American and German machines, and to pacify the parties two 
were ordered, one from each country ; but when the trial as to 
their superiority was made the German got such a thrashing 
it has never run since, and is now for sale. 

Sweeping close by the base of Carmel, on the north, the 
river Kishon flows into the bay of Acre, a large, beautiful, 
but not very secure harbor, owing to its exposure to the north- 
west storms. 

The famous city of Accho, or St. Jean d' Acre, is situated 
on the northern side of this bay, and is strongly fortified with 
double walls and fosse next the land, through which there is 
but a single portal. Napoleon considered Acre the key to 
Palestine, and his failure to gain possession of the place in 
1799 blasted all his hope of an eastern empire. Here he lost 
his prestige, and his downfall may be dated from his repulse 
before this city. 

This, the richest portion of Palestine, fell to the lot of Asher, 



238 



BIBLE LANDS. 



who here " dipped his foot in oil," but was never able to drive 
out the original inhabitants. The Plains of Acre and Esdra- 
elon are connected by the Kishon Valley, and with the Jordan 
Valley by the Plain of Jezreel. If a railroad should ever be 
built from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf, this will 
likely be the route — crossing the Jordan near Succoth, thence 
up the Yalley of the Jabbok, the old caravan trail from the East. 
There is no mountain to cross in the whole distance, and it fur- 
nishes a better supply of water and timber than any other route. 

One mile south of Acre the river Belus, a small stream, 
flows into the bay. It was on th% banks of this river, ac- 
cording to Pliny, that glass was first accidentally discovered ; 
which is very probable, as, owing to the quantity of vitreous 
matter mingled with the sand, a fire kindled anywhere on its 
shores would likely produce the same result. 

The history of Acre dates back to the earliest Phoenician 
settlements on the shores of the Mediterranean. During the 
Crusades it was the chief sea-port in Syria, and head-quarters of 
the Knights of St. John. When retaken by the Moslems, sixty 
thousand Christians were either put to the sword or sold into 
slavery. Many of her Pashas have been monsters of cruelty. 
One in particular, El Jezzar, amused himself in torturing his 
victims by putting out their eyes, or cutting off their ears, 
tongues, and noses. On one occasion he suspected the fidelity 
of his wives, and with his own hands put to death his whole 
harem. Some of his servants having offended him, he caused 
them to be thrown into a heated oven alive and roasted. 
During my visit to this place I saw a man who had all his 
fingers, toes, and part of his tongue cut off by order of a former 
Pasha. These abuses, I am happy to say, are being rapidly 
corrected in Turkey. 



THE TOMB OF EL JEZZAE. 



241 



The mosque and tomb of El Jezzar occupy a portion of the 
garden where he wantonly murdered the beautiful, and, as is 
generally believed, innocent women of his harem. The pillars 
in front of the mosque are red granite, with bronze bases and 
capitals. A colonnade incloses the garden on three sides, all 
the columns of which are from older buildings, and scarcely 
two alike — granite, marble, porphyry, of every size, color, and 
quality, some of exquisite workmanship. The court is paved 
with the richest marbles ; waving palm-trees shade the walks ; 
flowing fountains cool the air ; cozy arbors with soft divans in- 
vite repose, and the whole, gladdened by the sweet notes of 
many songsters, and redolent of the orange, jasmine, and other 
blooming plants, make up a luxurious pleasure-ground such as 
can be found only in Oriental lands. 

A few miles north of Acre the spurs of Lebanon crowd into 
the sea, forming the "Ladder of Tyre," a very narrow, diffi- 
cult pass, beyond which the Israelites were never able to extend 
their conquests. 

And here we cross again the pathway of our divine Lord, 
for over this mountain staircase the Saviour of our world 
must have passed when he visited "the coasts of Tyre and 
Sidon ; " and it was here he gave to our world those crumbs 
of comfort which inspire with hope the despairing soul, and 
prove God's willingness to save, even where there is no promise 
of salvation upon which to rest a plea for mercy. 

The renowned city of Tyre, whose king furnished the skilled 
workmen and much of the material for Solomon's grand tem- 
ple, was situated just beyond the ScaZa Ty riorum. And on the 
ridge about three miles east of the ancient city, overlooking 
the plain and sea, is the reputed tomb of Hiram, King of Tyre 

— historically, the first Grand Master of Masonry. It is a 
16 



242 



BIBLE LAjNDS. 



massive monument of pyramidal shape, fifteen feet long, by 
ten feet wide, and twenty-one feet high, composed of large 
blocks of limestone in perfect ashler, roughly dressed, the up- 
per courses being single stones, and evidently of Phoenician 
workmanship. 

A very interesting discovery has just been made at Tyre by 
Dr. Sepp, of Prussia. In digging for the remains of Emperor 
Frederick Barbarossa they came upon the ruins of a magnifi- 
cent Christian church— probably the cathedral erected by Paul- 




hiram's tomb. 

inus, when Bishop of Tyre, and for which Eusebius wrote the 
dedicatory sermon. The great Origen and many of the fathers 
and early bishops were buried here. And, what is very remark- 
able, not only their graves and bodies were found with the re- 
covery of this old church, but their vestments, jewels, and robes 
of office, in almost perfect preservation. This discovery is 
interesting as showing the vestments of the bishops during the^ 
first centuries of our era. One of these remains is, doubtless, 
the body of Origen. How strange all this seems ! When they 



INTERESTING DISCOVERY AT TYRE. 



243 



discovered the tomb of the Emperor, at a depth of eight feet, 
it was found to be empty, which explains another mystery. 
On examining his wife's tomb a few years since, in the cathe- 
dral of Spires, Germany, it was found to contain two skeletons, 
which never before could be explained. It now appears that 
some person, perhaps centuries ago, quietly removed the bones 
of Frederick Barbarrossa from Tyre to Hohenstauffen, and 
placed them in the coffin of his wife. 

All that remains of this once strong and wealthy city, " whose 
merchants were princes," are heaps of rubbish ; piles of beauti- 
ful granite columns, some of vast dimensions ; substructures of 
pagan and Christian temples, with here and there the fisher- 
man's hut, who now spreads his nets upon the broken walls 
and fallen towers of Phoenicia's once proud capital, literally 
fulfilling the prophecy of Ezekiel, " Therefore thus saith the 
Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will 
cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth 
his waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of 
Tyrus, and break down her towers : . . . and they shall lay 
thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the 
water. And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease ; and 
the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. And I will 
make thee like the top of a rock : thou shalt be a place to spread 
nets upon ; thou shalt be built no more : for I the Lord have 
spoken it, saith the Lord God." 1 

1 Ezekiel xxvi, 3-14. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



MOUNT CAEMEL SCENE OF ELIJAH'S SACEIFICE. 

Convent of Mar Elyas — Cave of Elijah — Grotto of the Sons of the Prophets — 
Mukhrakah, or Place of Sacrifice — View from the Mountain — Priests of Baal 
— The Lord, he is God. 

THIS noted mountain is called by the Arabs, Jebel Mar 
Elyas — Mountain of Elijah — as it was the favorite resort 
of that prophet, and is celebrated as the scene of his triumph 
over the priests of Baal. Isaiah speaks glowingly of the " ex- 
cellency of Carmel," and Solomon, in complimenting his wife, 
uses the metaphor, " Thine head upon thee is like Carmel." 1 
As the name signifies, this mountain, without doubt, was once 
a " fruitful field," a beautiful park covered with forest trees, 
olive groves, and vineyards, as numerous old rock-hewn oil and 
wine-presses indicate ; but she has long since been shorn of 
her tresses, the " plentiful field " has become barren, and the 
shouting of her vintage has ceased. "With the exception of 
here and there a cultivated patch, and a few large trees, the 
mountain is covered with scrubby oaks and a dense under- 
growth of brush, the favorite haunt of wolves, hyenas, jackals, 
wild boars, and other wild animals. 

Carmel is a ridge about fifteen miles long, running in a north- 
westerly direction from the mountains of Samaria to the Medi- 
terranean Sea, forming a natural barrier between the rich plain 
of Acre on the north and Sharon to the south. The ridge con- 
tinues to rise as it recedes from the sea, until it attains its great- 

1 Song of Solomon vii, 5. 



COXVEXT OF MAE ELY AS. 



245 



est elevation — one thousand seven hundred and twenty-eight 
feet near Esfieh, about ten miles back. 

The Convent of ]\Iar Elyas, a large stone edifice belonging to 
the order of Carmelite monks, is beautifully situated on the 
bold promontory at the northern extremity of Carmel, com- 
manding a fine view of the Bay of Acre, and the Lebanon 
mountains beyond. The Cave of Elijah, where it is said the 
prophet concealed himself from Ahab and Jezebel, is directly 




CONTEXT OX CARMEL. 

under the altar of the convent chapel, and is the principal object 
of interest. These monks claim Elijah as their founder, and 
they, no doubt, have a remote ancestry. They are mostly Span- 
iards and Italians, and in general bigoted and indolent, but man- 
age to raise their own tobacco and make their own wine. TTe 
spent a few days with them, but were not favorably impressed 
with monastic life. At sunset the massive gates were closed, 
and strong bars and bolts secured every portal of the fortress- 



246 



BIBLE LANDS. 



like convent. At tlie call of the vesper bell all collected in the 
chapel for evening prayers. The sanctuary was dimly lighted, 
and in the grotto beneath burned a glimmering taper, throwing 
out light just sufficient to reveal the form of the old prophet, 
who is here represented in his peculiar dress as still occupying 
J lis lonely cell. Yespers over, the monks retired to their rooms, 
and during the watches of the night the profound silence was 
often broken by the plaintive song, suppressed moan, or half- 
audible prayer of some burdened heart communing alone with 
God. The nights seemed dreadfully long, and the days in- 
terminable. 

Life in such a place is entirely too monotonous for me. We 
have something more to do in this world than lock ourselves up 
in prison-like convents to fast and pray, or, worse, drink and 
smoke our lives away. God and humanity, religion and poli- 
tics, have claims upon us we dare not ignore. Man was created 
for an object. He should live to some good purpose ; not bury, 
but improve his talents. If one has the privilege of thus se- 
cluding himself from society, all have the same privilege, 
which would soon stop all progress, and terminate ignobly our 
race. 

Near the base of the promontory, a few hundred yards north 
of the convent, and close by some ancient cisterns, is the Grotto 
of Elisha, or of the " Sons of the Prophets," a large cave, fifty 
feet long by twenty-five wide, and twenty feet high, where, ac- 
cording to tradition, Obadiah concealed and fed the prophets 
of the Lord during the long famine in Samaria. There is a 
deep niche facing the entrance, and a large recess on the east 
side, with seats cut in the rock along the west side and south 
end. It is a natural cave artificially enlarged, and bears the 
marks of great antiquity. Many curious designs and inscrip- 



MUKHKAKAH — THE PLACE OF SACRIFICE. 



247 



tions are cut on the wall, some in old Phoenician and Greek, 
others in unknown characters. This grotto is held in great 
veneration by Jews, Christians, and Mussulmans, and for some 
reason the Druzes come every year and sacrifice a lamb at its 
entrance. There are many other caves in this neighborhood, 
once the retreat of pious hermits, now the lair of wild beasts 
and half -naked Arabs. 

Mukhrakah, the place of burning, and traditional site of 
Elijah's sacrifice, is a truncated cone not over one hundred yards 
in diameter on the top, at the extreme south-eastern point of the 
Carmel range. It was probably at one time covered with a 
forest of oaks, as the trunks of several large trees are still stand- 
ing ; and it is just such an eminence as the followers of Baal 
would select for their worship. Some old foundations, a large 
open cistern, with many dressed stones lying round, would in- 
dicate that some kind of a temple had once crowned its crest. 
On the summit, where the Tishbite's altar is supposed to have 
stood, the native rock crops out, forming a natural platform 
which can be seen from almost every point on the mountain and 
terrace below. The locality, the name, and all the surround- 
ings, favor the supposition that this is the identical spot where 
it was demonstrated by fire from heaven that there was still a 
God in Israel. 

The view from this point is very grand. On the west and 
south all the plain of Sharon, and the sea-coast for fifty miles, 
can be seen ; to the north the verdant mountains of Galilee, 
with Great Hermon in the distance, head and shoulders above 
his fellows, radiant in midsummer with the snows of winter. 
Eastward the view is unsurpassed; at your feet flows the 
Kishon, where the priests of Baal were slaughtered, and beyond 
it the great plain of Esdraelon, not only the battle-field, but 



248 



BIBLE LANDS. 



granary of Palestine, yellow with, its rich harvest ripe for the 
sickle. Tabor rises up beautifully directly in front of you, with 
the Jordan valley and mountains of the Hauran in the back- 
ground. Next comes Little Hermon on the right, with the 
villages of Nam and Endor on her slopes, and Shunem at her 
base. One can almost fancy he sees the prophet's room upon 
the wall, and the Shunammite riding across the plain in the heat 
of the day, to tell Elisha of her son's sudden death. Then 
comes Gilboa, Mount Gilboa, where Saul and his three sons fell 
in the battle, and the shield of the mighty was cast away. On 
a low spur of the mountain jutting out into the plain are the 
ruins of Jezreel. This is the site of Naboth's vineyard. Here 
Ahab built his ivory palace, and three successive kings of Is- 
rael reigned. Here, also, Joram was pierced to the heart by 
Jehu, and the profligate Jezebel trodden under foot and thrown 
to the dogs. 

This locality fulfills all the conditions of the inspired narra- 
tive. The mountain here breaks off in terraces to the plain, a 
thousand feet below, and can easily be ascended from all sides. 
In a depression on the north side, about one third down, is a 
copious fountain walled round with ancient masonry, which 
may have supplied the water used on the occasion. The 
Kishon sweeps close by its eastern base, and a mound on the 
right bank of the river, called Tell el Kusis— " The Hill of the 
Priests " — is pointed out as the spot where the false prophets 
were slain. What interest gathers about this spot ! On this 
lofty eminence, in the presence of all Israel, the great contro- 
versy was settled as to who was the tine and only God. How 
noble the conduct of Elijah on that occasion ! Though he stood 
alone, confronted by eight hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, 
his faith did not stagger for a moment. Fearlessly he reproved 



u THE LORD, HE IS THE GOD ! " 



251 



Ahab, and propounded the important question to the people, 
" How long halt ye between two opinions ? " His proposition, 
to submit the question to God, was accepted, and the test was 
at once to be made. The priests of Baal prepared their sacri- 
fice. From morning till noon, and from noon till evening, 
they called in vain upon their god, " O Baal, hear us." Then 
came the momentous hour ! Elijah, the only prophet of Jeho- 
vah left, prepared his offering. The vast multitude waited, in 
breathless expectation, the result. The hopes of the world 
centered upon that rude altar. The sun was rapidly sinking 
beneath the horizon. All eyes were now fixed upon Elijah. 
An earnest prayer ascended to God. Instantly fire from heaven 
consumed the sacrifice. The people, blinded by the light, 
buried their faces in the dust ; then, with one voice, exclaimed, 
" The Lord, he is the God ! The Lord, he is the God ! " 1 

The mountain has ever since been regarded as holy ground. 
Pythagoras, Yespasian, and many others, have come from afar 
to touch the " mount that burned with fire," and the event is 
still celebrated by an annual feast on the 20th of July, which 
is the great festival of the year. We were present on one 
occasion at the celebration of this feast. Thousands were in 
attendance from all parts of the country ; some from as far as 
Damascus. They generally come in parties consisting of vil- 
lages or families, bringing their own provision, and each party 
a lamb or kid to make merry with, fattened for the occasion, 
which is slaughtered and eaten, not as a sacrifice, but as a 
memorial feast. There was no particular religious ceremony 
observed, nothing instructive or inspiring, but eating and 
drinking, dancing and shooting, seemed to be the order of the 
day — more in keeping with pagan rites than Christian worship. 

1 1 Kings xviii, 39. 



252 



BIBLE LANDS. 



All descriptions I have ever read of this locality represent 
the altar as ?iear, but not upon, the summit, and the sea as not 
visible from the place of sacrifice, which are incorrect. The 
altar stood upon the top of Carmel, in full view of all Israel, 
and from this point the sea can be distinctly seen. 

To harmonize the locality and narrative : When Ahab, after 
the slaughter of the priests, returned to the place of sacrifice, 
Elijah must have gone to some lower point on Carmel to 
pray for rain ; probably stopped on the terrace near the spring, 
from which a view of the Mediterranean is shut out by a 
western spar of the mountain; and his servant would have 
to " go up " perhaps fifty feet to get a glimpse of the sea, 
and still higher to tell Ahab to " prepare his chariot," and get 
himself down before the great rain storm broke upon the 
mountain. It is clear to my mind that Ahab at this time was 
some distance above Elijah ; and this agrees with the whole 
record, from which it appears the king went up to the place of 
sacrifice, or summit of Carmel, and the prophet only to the ter- 
race lower down. One thing is certain, there is no point near 
where the altar stood from which the sea is not visible. So 
the place of sacrifice could not have been the place of prayer, 
or the servant of Elijah would have had no occasion — in fact, 
it would have been impossible — to go up higher to obtain a 
view of the sea. And is it not reasonable to suppose that the 
prophet would seek some retired spot where he could be alone 
in prayer with God, and not return to the summit where the 
noisy multitude were feasting and drinking ? 

Great changes have taken place since the I6ne prophet 
erected his altar on this mount, but the identity of the place 
has never been questioned ; and though Carmel may languish, 
the name of Elijah the Tishbite shall never die ! 



CHAPTER XIV. 



FKOM JERUSALEM TO DAMASCUS. 

Tent Life — Gibeah of Benjamin — Bethel— Curious Legend — Shiloh — Jacob's 
Well — Shechem — Nazareth — Sea of Galilee — Site of Capernaum — Waters 
of Merom — Dan — Csesarea Philippi — Crossing Hermon — Tomb of Nimrod — 
Damascus. 

WITH good tents, horses and dragoman, there is now no 
difficulty in traveling from one end of Palestine to the 
other, and, with the Bible as a guide-book, locate nearly every 
place of religious interest. And there is something fascinating, 
almost inspiring, in such a trip ; the dews of night are cooling 
and refreshing ; the atmosphere clear and exhilarating ; every 
hill and dale and plain in the spring-time, covered with wild 
flowers ; and the mind is kept constantly excited by the sacred 
and historic memories awakened by every tree and rock and 
ruin by the way. 

True, there is nothing very striking or grand in the scenery, 
yet it possesses an interest greater than any other land, when 
we call up the ancient men born among its craggy hills and 
cradled in its little wadies, and whose bodies still sleep in its 
rock-hewn tombs. E"or is there any thing very beautiful ; but 
who thinks of the beautiful when visiting a grave-yard, or 
strolling over a battle-field ? Palestine contains the tomb of 
Christ ; here repose the ashes of the Patriarchs, and this is the 
world's great moral battle-field, where the Captain of our sal- 
vation stormed the citadel of sin and death, and " brought life 
and immortality to light." 



254 



BIBLE LANDS. 



The events of the remote past seem to have occurred but 
yesterday. Christ appears every-where present, and you can 
almost fancy you hear his voice, saying, " Lo, I am with you 
alway." The narratives of the New Testament become living 
realities, and so striking is the harmony between the text of 




DAMASCUS GATE, JERUSALEM 



Scripture and the landscape, and so wonderfully do they 
accord, the very scenery is like a new gospel, or fresh revela- 
tion from God. 

Going out of the Damascus gate, and taking the old Koman 
road leading north— the very same along which Christ must 
have journeyed on his way to Galilee— in about one hour we 



BETHEL THE HOUSE OF GOD. 



255 



reach the ruins of Gibeah of Benjamin, once the royal residence 
of Saul, Israel's first king, and where Rizpah watched with so 
much maternal tenderness the dead bodies of her two sons, from 
" the beginning of the barley harvest," 1 about the month of 
May, till the autumn rains began to fall, in October or Novem- 
ber. In the Orient they bury the dead very shallow, and this 
devoted mother during all that time watched the graves of her 
children, keeping off the vultures by day and the jackals and 
hyenas by night, from devouring their remains. 

The names of towns in the East often apply to the districts 
in which they are located. Bethany, for instance, not only 
relates to the home of Mary and Martha, but to the district of 
which it is the principal village; and by Gibeah we are to 
understand not only the royal city of Saul, but the district of 
which it was the capital. This will harmonize the passages 
that refer to " Gibeah in the field," 2 and Saul's abode being 
" in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate-tree ; " 3 
and of his coming " out of the field with the herd," 4 to meet 
the messengers from Jabesh. It was also here that the shock- 
ing offense was committed against a helpless woman, that well- 
nigh involved the extermination of the tribe of Benjamin. 

Kesuming our journey, in two hours we come to the site of 
ancient Bethel — the house of God — so called in commemora- 
tion of God's manifestations here to his servants the patriarchs. 
Near this Abraham, when he first entered Canaan, built an 
altar, "and called upon the name of the Lord." 6 Here Jacob' 
had his wonderful vision of the ladder reaching from earth to 
heaven, on which the angels of God ascended and descended ; 
and it was here, in after centuries, the ark of the covenant was. 

1 2 Samuel xxi, 10. 2 Judges xx, 31. 3 1 Samuel xiv, 2. 

4 1 Samuel xi, 5. 5 Genesis xii, 8. 



256 



BIBLE LANDS. 



kept for many years, in the days of Phinehas. Bethel was 
situated on the highway between Jerusalem and Shechem. Por- 
tions of the paved road-bed may still be seen, and a few of the 
old mile-stones are yet standing and others lying by the way. 

The supposed site of Jacob's vision is marked by the ruins 
of a square tower half a mile to the east of the modern village ; 
and as we rode up to the place an Arab, wrapped in his aha, 
or cloak, lay fast asleep by the way-side, with a large stone for 
his pillow, recalling the old patriarch, who, long centuries be- 
fore, had slept in the same manner, and very near the same 
spot, on his way to Padan-aram. This custom of using stones 
for pillows prevails all through Palestine, the thick turbans 
worn by the natives protecting the head, and rendering even 
a rock a comfortable pillow. 

A curious legend is told in connection with this stone which 
Jacob slept on, and afterward set up and anointed with oil. 
After the conquest of the country, according to the tradition, 
this stone, known as the " Stone of Destiny," was kept in the 
sanctuary at Bethel until removed to the temple at Jerusalem, 
where the ark of the covenant was placed upon it. This, it is 
said, was the stone referred to by David as that " which the 
builders rejected," but which afterward became the " head of 
the corner," and was destined for peculiar honors! "When 
the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, the Prophet 
Jeremiah, as the story runs, with the remnant of the tribe of 
Judah, migrated to Ireland, taking "Jacob's pillow" with 
them, and all the Irish kings were crowned upon it ! An Irish 
prince afterward conveyed it to Scotland, and all the Scottish 
kings were crowned upon it ; but with its loss Ireland lost hei 
independence, and this is the secret of all her woes. In aftei 
centuries it was removed to Westminster Abbey, where it may 



MICHMASH. 



257 



still be seen in the seat of the coronation chair, and upon it 
all the kings and queens of England, since the days of Ed- 
ward III. down to Yictoria, have been crowned, and many 
superstitions people think that so long as England retains 
possession of this stone, so long will she maintain her ascend- 
ency among the nations. 

Ten minutes' walk along the ridge south-east of the old tower 
are the ruins of a large Christian church, probably built by the 
Crusaders, marking the supposed camping-place of Abraham 
on his return from Egypt, and where he parted with his nephew 
Lot. The spot commands an extensive view of the Jordan val- 
ley, and you can distinctly see from this point with the naked 
eye the traditional site of Zoar, near the southern end of the 
Dead Sea, thus removing at least all topographical objections 
to the location of the " little city." 

On a lower spur of this mountain range, and just below where 
Abraham erected his altar, are large rock-hewn reservoirs, and 
the ruins of a very old city, supposed to be the remains of Ai, 
the second place taken by Joshua in the conquest of the land, 
and where Achan's sin brought defeat and disgrace upon the 
people of God. 1 Still farther east, perched like an eagle's nest 
on a craggy, almost inaccessible cliff, is Michmash, the scene of 
Jonathan's bold adventure, when with only his armor-bearer 
he surprised and put to flight the whole garrison of the Phil- 
istines. 2 And just here, where the mountain slopes down into 
the valley up which winds the road from Jericho to Bethel, 
Elisha was returning from Gilgal when the naughty children 
mocked this old servant of God, and two hungry bears came 
" out of the wood " and destroyed f orty-and-two of their num- 
ber. 3 Bears are still found in this region, and if the young 

1 Joshua vii, 21. 2 1 Samuel xiv, 4. 3 2 Kings ii, 23. 



258 



BIBLE LANDS. 



trees were allowed to grow forests would again cover tliesc 
hills, as when Joshua's army lay in ambush on their slopes. 
It was no doubt up this same valley the lion came from the 
jungles along the Jordan that slew the disobedient prophet 
who came out of Judah. 

After the formation of the new kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam 
selected Bethel as his royal residence, building here great palaces 
and " houses of ivory " — inlaid with ivory — making it the seat 
of the idolatrous worship of the golden calf, thus turning the 
house of God into a house of idols, until God in his wrath rent 
the altar asunder, and scattered its ashes to the four winds of 
heaven. 

But little is left of the old city. The prediction of Amos, 
that " Bethel shall come to naught," has been fulfilled to the 
letter ; for all that remains of this memorable place are a few 
hovels and a large ancient reservoir fed by a living spring, to 
which the village maidens may be seen coming with their 
water pitchers as of old, but entirely ignorant of the history of 
the place, and indifferent to its sacred associations. 

The first night after leaving Jerusalem we encamped at 
Shiloh, under a venerable oak near the ruins of an old church, 
supposed to mark the spot where the tabernacle was first set 
up after the conquest of Canaan, and where Eli officiated as 
high-priest, and little " Samuel ministered before the Lord." 
The following day we lunched at Jacob's well, on the Plain of 
Moreh, where Abraham first pitched his tent in the Land of 
Promise. The well is one hundred and five feet deep, cut 
through the solid rock, and without doubt is the same on the 
curb of which the Saviour of our world, weary and faint, rested 
in the heat of the day, when he delivered his memorable dis- 
course to the woman of Samaria. A ride of five minutes over 



:r a;;lo lis— ancient shechem. 



261 



flie plain, directly north,. brings us to Joseph's tomb, an open 
inclosiire about twenty by thirty feet, containing, beyond ques- 
tion, the ashes of Jacob's beloved son. 

Xablous, the old city of Shechem, our camping-place for the 
night, is situated a little way up the valley to the west, with 
Mount Gerizim on the south and Ebal on the north. It was 
here Joshua read the law "before all the congregation of Is- 




bAMARIA. 

rael," 1 and we have in the topography of this locality a won- 
derful corroboration of the inspired narrative. Here are two 
vast amphitheaters facing each other, and forming a natural 
whisper-gallery, where a man reading with a clear voice could 
be heard distinctly by a million persons ; showing that there 
was nothing impossible nor miraculous in the event re- 
corded. In our illustration Gerizim is to the right, and it 
was on the summit of this mountain the Samaritans built 

1 Joshua viii, 35. 



262 



BIBLE LAUDS. 



their temple, and even, to the present annually observe the 
Passover. 

Breaking camp early, and passing through. Samaria, long the 
capital of Israel, with its once beautiful colonnade half buried 
in rubbish, and Dothan. where Elisha smote his enemies with 
blindness and where Joseph was sold to the Ishniaelites. we 
crossed the eastern spurs of Carmel, leaving the scene of Elijah's 
sacrifice to our left, and. descending into the plain, found our 
tents pitched on the site of Naboth's vineyard, near the Fountain 
of Jezreel, where the infamous Jezebel was thrown to the dogs. 
It was up this valley Jehu furiously drove in his chariot, and 
out on the plain before us is where "the sword of the Lord 
and of Gideon" prevailed against the Midianites. Resuming 
our journey on the morrow, crossing the broad, rich Plain of 
Esdraelon, and sweeping round the base of Little Hermon and 
Tabor, leaving Shun em and Nain on our right, we began the 
difficult ascent of the Galilean hills, and after an hour's climb- 
ing reached the quiet village of Nazareth, the early home of 
the Son of God on earth. What memories the name of " Jesus 
of Nazareth " awaken ! Among these hills Christ spent his 
childhood ; on this landscape he must have gazed : at the fount- 
ain from which we drink he must often have quenched his 
thirst ; here he labored for Iris daily bread ; here he was trained 
for his life sublime ; here he taught in the synagogue ; and over 
one of these neighboring cliffs his own people, after rejecting 
his preaching, would have hurled him to death had nut his- 
divinity saved his humanity. 

From Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee via Cana. where Christ 
performed his first miracle, is an easy day's ride. On the way 
we stopped for luncheon on the traditional mount where Christ 
delivered his inimitable sermon, and miraculously fed the hun- 



NAZARETH AND SEA OF GALILEE. 



263 



gry thousands who waited on his ministry. Here, also, was 
fought, in A. D. 1187, the last great battle between the Cru- 
saders and Mohammedans, that sealed the fate of Palestine. 
Rather singular that this fearful slaughter of Christians should 
have taken place on the reputed spot where the Prince of Peace 
taught our world the divine precepts of charity and forgiveness. 




NAZARETH. 



Mounting our horses, we soon began descending from the high 
table-land, and by sundown were in our tents on the shores of 
the lake just below the town of Tiberias — the ancient capital 
of Galilee. This lake is fifteen miles long by about half that 
distance wide, and lies six hundred and fifty feet below the 
level of the ocean. It still abounds with fish, and its shores are 



264 



BLBLE LANDS. 



covered with small shells, and bordered with oleanders and other 
flowering shrubs. What could be more delightful than to stroll 
along the pebbly beach, bathe in the limpid waters, and be lulled 
to rest at night by the rippling waves of the Sea of Galilee ? 
Or, after a morning walk on its shores, or a sail over its glassy 
surface, make your breakfast on fish taken from the same lake 
where the disciples toiled all night and caught nothing ? 

About four miles north of Tiberias is the village of Magdala, 
the native town of Mary Magdalene ; and two miles west of 
this, in a wild, rocky gorge, are the ruins of Irbid, and of an 
old castle perched on the top of a high cliff, in the sides of 
which are numerous caverns. This undoubtedly is ancient 
Arbela, from which Herod the Great dislodged the band of 
robbers who were such a terror to the inhabitants of that region. 
According to Josephus, Herod first laid siege to the caverns, 
but without avail. He then lowered parties of soldiers in large 
boxes by chains from above, and with fire and sword attacked 
those who defended the entrance, dragging them out of their 
dens with long hooks, and hurling them down the precipice ; 
and in this way the place was finally taken and the robbers 
destroyed. 

Magdala is on the southern edge of the rich Plain of Gen- 
nesareth, that here puts into the sea. On the northern side of 
this plain, which is about three miles wide, is Khan Minyeh, 
near the large spring of Ain et Tin, which is evidently the 
fountain of Capernaum mentioned by Josephus as on this plain ; 
and the ruins on a low mound a short distance south of the 
khan and fountain in all probability mark the site of Caper- 
naum, the adopted " city " of Jesus. This is on the great Da- 
mascus road, in a well-watered, fertile plain ; and if Capernaum 
was "upon the sea-coast" in "the land of Gennesareth," as 




HEROD DESTROYING THE R033ERS. 



SITE OP CAPERNAUM. 



267 



Matthew affirms, it must have been here, and could not have 
been at Tel Hum. Quaresmius states positively that it was by 
this khan. Dr. Robinson also locates it here, and the Pales- 
tine Exploration Society have lately found the very name, pre- 
served by the natives and applied to these ruins, which are not 
very extensive, most of the material having been carried away 
to build up Tiberias. 

But hoAv terrible the judgments of God on the cities up- 
braided by Christ ! Capernaum, once " exalted unto heaven," 
now thrust down so low, its very name and site are in dispute. 
As for Chorazin and Bethsaida, they have been entirely oblit- 
erated, not a soul living upon the site of either of these cities. 
All is desolation, death, and ruin. "What a woe befell them ! 

Every spot along the shores of this lake seemed to be holy 
ground. Here the Saviour spent most of his public life ; here 
he wrought his greatest miracles ; and it was here he chose his 
twelve apostles. How the hours flew as we wandered along 
the beach, picking up pebbles, and plucking wild flowers from 
every sacred spot. Many wild ducks, geese, pelicans, and other 
water-fowl, were swimming about on its surface, and in the 
neighboring jungle, at night, could be heard the howl of the 
wolf or cry of the panther, jackal, and leopard, fulfilling most 
literally the prophecies concerning this land. 1 

If these prophecies had been written yesterday, they could 
not more correctly and graphically describe the present condi- 
tion of this sea and its surroundings. Every prediction has 
become an historic fact. And in the ruins of the cities that 
once stood upon its shores we have an argument in support of 
the divine record that all the ingenuity of modern criticism 
and scientific skepticism can never overthrow. 

1 Leviticus xxvi, 22-35. 



268 



BIBLE LAjSTDS. 



Crossing a lofty ridge, with Safed — " the city set on a hill" — 
to the west, we stopped for lunch at Khan Jubb Yusuff — the 
Khan of Joseph — said to inclose the pit into which Joseph was 
thrown by his brethren, thongh we think: Dothan has stronger 
claims; camping at night on the banks of Nahr Hendaj, a 
mountain stream that flows into Lake Huleh, the " Waters of 
Merom," where Joshua slew Jabin king of Hazor. 1 

Next morning we arose early, and, riding round the west 
shore of the lake, hugging closely the rocky hills to avoid the 
great marsh that surrounds this lake, we crossed a rich bu1 
swampy plain, black with grazing herds of buffalo, and sicken 
ing from the stench of numerous carcasses, the effects of a late 
storm that destroyed many of these beasts, upon which scores 
of eagles and vultures were preying, illustrating the saying, 
" Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered 
together." After passing the Lebanon branch of the Jordan 
on an old Koman bridge, we came in a few miles to Tell el 
Kady, the Dan of Scripture — one of the sources of the Jordan, 
and largest fountain in Syria, where we lunched under the 
shade of a grand old terebinth, standing directly over the 
spring, and shading with its broad branches the portal of the 
river of God. Here stood ancient Dan, the most northern 
city in Palestine proper ; here Jeroboam built his temple and 
set up his golden calf, and it was here Abraham, centuries 
before, rescued his nephew Lot and defeated the Mesopotamian 
kings on their retreat from the Jordan valley. 

Our ride from Dan to Banias, or -Csesarea Philippi, the other 
. source of the Jordan, where we encamped for the night, lay 
through a lovely district, shaded with terebinths and the " oaks 
of Bashan." " As we were riding along, admiring the beautiful 

1 Joshua xi, 6. 



ANCIENT DAN. 



271 



scenery, our attention was arrested by a Bedouin in gay attire 
on a swift dromedary, hurrying by us as if on some important 
mission. In a few minutes he halted, and, taking his position 
by the road-side, saluted, in the most profound manner, each 
one of our party as we passed along. On inquiring the mean- 
ing of all this civility, we were informed by our dragoman 
that the Arab was. the Sheik of that territory, and wished to 
show all respect to the Americans passing through his country. 




SWIFT DROMEDARY. 



Our tents were pitched in an olive grove, near where the Jor- 
dan issues from the mountain, and during the night we were 
much disturbed by the jackals and other wild beasts that kept 
howling round our camp. Mr. Holman Hunt, the eminent 
artist, encamped one night in this same grove, and, being dis- 
turbed about midnight by some noise, looked out of his tent, 
and saw a large hyena in the camp snuffing the breath of the 
muleteers, who were sleeping on the ground, by putting its 
nose to their mouths. This was done to ascertain whether they 



272 



BIBLE LANDS, 



were dead or alive. Finding them alive,, the hyena walked 
leisurely away, as, fortunately, this animal feeds only on putrid 
uesh. 

As Minerva leaped full armed from the brain of Jove, so 
the Jordan here bursts a full river from its hidden source, and, 
sweeping on in its course for two hundred miles, plunges into 
the Sea of Death, and is seen no more. Beautiful symbol of 
man's career ! The most remarkable river in the world, flowing 
throughout its entire length beneath the level of the sea. 




CJSSAREA PHILIPPI. 



Caesarea Philippi occupies one of the most picturesque sites 
in Syria, being situated on a terrace at the foot of Hermon, in 
the midst of olive groves and forests of oak, gladdened by 
numerous springs and waterfalls. It derived its name from 
Caesar Tiberius and Philip the Tetrarch, son of Herod the 
Great. This region was the great seat of idolatry among the 
ancients, and the whole country is dotted with the remains of 
old pagan temples. TThen the Canaanites yet held the land 
there was a temple here dedicated to Baal-gad ; and just above 



OjESAREA philippi. 



273 



the principal fountain there is a large grotto in the face of the 
mountain, once used by the Greeks as a temple for the wor- 
ship of Pan, as niches in the sides of the cliff and numerous 
inscriptions fully attest ; here, also, stood the magnificent tem- 
ple built by Herod the Great, and dedicated to Augustus Caesar, 
where Titus, after the destruction of Jerusalem, was feted by 
Agrippa, and returned thanks to his god for the success of his 
campaign. All these temples of Baal, Pan, and Caesar are 
now gone, but the rock on which they stood remains unchanged, 
and on this solid platform Christ may have stood, and to this 
firm foundation may have referred when he laid the corner- 
stone of our Zion, and said to his disciples, "Upon this rock 
I will build my Church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it ;" 1 beautifully setting forth the stability and per- 
petuity of his kingdom. Eusebius, who visited this city at 
the close of the third century, says that the afilicted woman 
who had vainly " spent all her living on physicians," and who 
was healed by merely touching the border of Christ's garment, 2 
was a native of this place ; that her house was still standing in 
his day; and that the incident was commemorated by two 
bronze statues which he saw elevated on a stone base at the 
entrance to her house, one representing "the woman on 
her knees, with her hands stretched out before her, like one 
entreating ; " the other, of " Christ, standing erect, clad in a 
mantle, and stretching out his hand to the woman." 3 It is 
said these monuments were destroyed by Julian the Apostate. 
If not, they may still be buried beneath the debris of the old 
city, and some day may be recovered. 

This same author gives an interesting description of the cave 
and fountain we have mentioned. He says : " At Caesarea 

1 Matthew xvi, 18. 2 Luke viii, 43. 3 Eusebius, book vi, chapter 18. 
18 



274 



BIBLE LAIs T DS. 



Pkilippi, whicli is called Banias by the Phoenicians, there are 
springs shown at the foot of the mountain from which the 
Jordan rises, and that on a certain festival day there was 
usually a person thrown into these springs, and that the victim, 
by the power of some demon, in a wonderful manner entirely 




BANIAS AND GROTTO. 



disappeared." Josephus, also, in referring to this grotto, 1 de- 
scribes it "as a very fine cave in the mountain, under which 
is a great cavity in the earth, and that the cavern is abrupt 
and prodigiously deep, and full of still water. Herod adorned 
this place, which was already a very remarkable one, still 

1 Antiquities, xv, 10; Jewish Wars, i. 21. 



MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION". 



275 



further, by the erection of a temple of white marble by the 
fountains of the Jordan, which he dedicated to Caesar. The 
place is called Panium, and beneath it a dark cave opens itself, 
within which is a horrible precipice which descends abruptly 
to a vast depth. It contains a mighty quantity of water, which 
is immovable; and when any thing is let down to measure 
, the depth of the earth beneath the water, no length of cord 
is sufficient to reach it." Could this legend and cavern have 
suggested to John his imagery of the " bottomless pit ; " and 
the Jordan flowing from its mysterious source beneath Her- 
mon, which is more than probably the Mount of Transfigura- 
tion, his beautiful description of " the river of life, clear as 
crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the 
Lamb % " 1 The Jordan, after issuing from the mountain, in 
a succession of sparkling cascades, flows down the valley, giv- 
ing life, beauty, and fertility to the most charming landscape ; 
and in the midst of it, "and on either side of the river," 
are all manner of tropical trees yielding their fruits every 
month, and the leaves of the trees are still used "for the 
healing of the nations." Yery suggestive of Paradise; and 
may not this lovely spot have been a part of the garden planted 
by the Lord, 2 wherein the opening scene in the history of our 
race transpired % 

Breaking camp at an early hour, we crossed the valley on a 
stone bridge, and, riding round the walls and through the city, 
soon began the long zigzag ascent of Hermon, the highest peak 
of the Anti-Lebanon range, passing on our way the old Phoeni- 
cian castle of Subeibeh, one of the grandest ruins in Syria, and 
the last stronghold of the Crusaders. After hours of climbing, 
when near the summit we came upon vast fields of drifted 

1 Revelation xxii, 1. 2 Genesis ii, 8. 



276 



BIBLE LANDS. 



snow ; deeper and deeper it became as we advanced. Our 
horses soon began to labor, then plunge, finally they stuck fast 
and were unable to proceed. Holding a consultation, it was 
determined to try a path to the left, but we soon found it im- 
practicable. Next, we tried to force a passage over the ridge, 




CASTLE SUBEIBEH. 



but here met with a high precipice over which it was impossi- 
ble to go. The day was intensely hot, the reflection of the 
sun on the snow blistering our faces. In one place we came 
upon the remains of a flock of sheep that had been devoured 
by wolves, and we had reasons for apprehending a similar fate. 
It was a perilous hour. Lofty mountains surrounded us. In 



MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION. 277 

our fruitless efforts to get through we lost our way. It was 
now two o'clock in the afternoon, and we were five hours from 
our camping-ground. Something must be done, or the party 
perish. At last we made a detour to the right down the 
mountain, over fields of lava, and through drifts of snow, our 
poor horses struggling, falling, bleeding, almost dying, when 
we fortunately struck a path that led round the southern base 
of the mountain, reaching our tents at Kefr Hauwar, near the 
traditional tomb of Nimrod, the mighty hunter, about an hour 
after dark, faint and hungry, but thankful for our safe passage 
of Hermon. The ladies of our party, Mrs. A. N. Riddle, of 
Cincinnati, and my wife, showed great bravery in plunging 
through snow-drifts, almost burying their horses. We reached 
Damascus by noon the following day, but shall reserve for 
another place a description of this, among the oldest cities in 
the world. 




WATER-WHEEL, FOR IRRIGATION 



CHAPTER XV. 



DOWN TO JERICHO. 



The Inn by the Way-side — Going up to Adummim — Brook Cherith— Yalley of 
Achor — Site of Gilgal — Passage of the Jordan — Place of Christ's Baptism — 
— Pilgrims Bathing — Ancient Jericho — Singular Tradition — Quarantania — 
Mount of Temptation — Bone Caverns. 

M T\OWJST to Jericlio " from Jerusalem, is a trip taken by al- 



U most every traveler visiting Palestine. The distance is 
perhaps sixteen miles, and the descent near four thousand feet, 
Jericho being about one thousand feet below the ocean level. 
The road lies through the "Wilderness of Judea," and the 
journey is still full of perils, from the roughness of the way 
and the wild Arabs every- where to be seen skulking among the 
rocks, ready to pounce upon any wayfaring man courageous 
enough to venture into these forbidden grounds without proper 
guards. 

On leaving Jerusalem and going out at St. Stephen's gate, 
you cross the Kedron on a stone bridge near the Garden of 
Gethsemane, and, sweeping round Olivet below the tombs of the 
prophets, in half an hour you are at Bethany, once the humble 
home of the Son of God in the hospitable family of Martha, 
Mary, and Lazarus. From here you descend rapidly to En- 
Shemesh — the Fountain of the Sun — a fine spring now known 
as the " Well of the Apostles," issuing from the eastern face of 
a rocky ridge, and one of the old landmarks between Judah 
and Benjamin. 

Following for two hours the meanderings of the stream 




BROOK CHERITH AISD VALLEY OF ACHOR. 279 

flowing from this fountain, you come to the traditional site of 
the " inn by the way-side," where the good Samaritan left the 
wounded man who had fallen among thieves. The spot is 
marked by the remains of an old khan, where you can lunch 
under the shadow of a great rock, the only shelter to be found 
in this, the most desolate and dangerous part of the route. This 
wild district is " the going up to Adummim," and is proverbial 




THE BLOODY WAY. 

for its bloody deeds. St. Jerome calls it " the red, or bloody 
way," and a deep ravine through which the road winds is still 
known as the " Murderer's Glen." Here Sir Frederick Hen- 
niker, a few years since, was stripped and left for dead by the 
roadside ; and still later, Dr. Ley burn, of Baltimore, Md., was 
robbed by the Bedouins, who to the present infest this lonely 
uncultivated region. It was to protect pilgrims going over this 



280 BIBLE LA1S T DS. 

dangerous road that the order of Knight Templars was first 
organized, an office now performed by the Abu Dis tribe of 
Arabs, with whom we have a regular treaty, guaranteeing the 
protection of Americans passing through their territory. 




DOWN TO JERICHO. 



No scenery in Palestine is wilder or grander than from 
Adummim to Jericho — mountains heaped on mountains in endless 
confusion. The road now winding through tortuous glens, then 
over bold peaks and along the brink of fearful precipices, ren- 
dering one dizzy peering down into the seemingly bottomless 
depths. From one point the view is unsurpassed. Spread out 
before you is the whole Jordan valley, with the purple-tinted 



VALLEY OF THE JORDAN. 



281 



Mountains of Moab beyond. On your right may be seen the 
Dead Sea, rolling its leaden waves over the supposed site of 
the guilty " Cities of the Plain," with a sleepy haze floating 
on the water, as if "the smoke of their torment" was still 
ascending to heaven ; and on your left is Wady Kelt, or Yalley 
of Achor — a deep rocky gorge through which the brook Che- 
rith cuts its way, and where Achan was stoned to death for his 
covetousness. The descent here is very steep — the mountain 
breaking away abruptly down to the plain, rendering the ap- 
proach to Jericho from the west very difficult. In places the 
old paved Roman road may still be seen, undoubtedly the same 
over which the "Man of sorrows" once pursued his weary 
way, and by the side of which poor Bartimeus sat when the 
Light of the world passed before him and dispelled the dark- 
ness forever from his sightless eyes. 1 

About sundown we crossed the Yalley of Achor, and found 
our tents pitched on the banks of the " brook Cherith," where 
Elijah was fed by the ravens, or Arabs of Oreb — a village not 
far from this — just as you please. 

The Jordan valley at this point is from ten to fifteen miles 
wide, the soil — if we except the nitrous plain bordering the 
Dead Sea — rich "as the garden of the Lord," and "well 
watered," as when Lot chose it for his inheritance before the 
overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. No less than six springs, 
any one of them sufficient to run a mill, and the remains of 
twelve ancient aqueducts for irrigating the plains, may still be 
seen in this immediate vicinity. 

As there is no river so hallowed in its associations as the Jor- 
dan, having been thrice miraculously divided, so there is no val- 
ley like that through which this renowned river winds its tor- 

1 Mark x, 46. 



282 



BIBLE LANDS. 



tuous way, from its mysterious source beneath the base of Her- 
mon to where it plunges into the Sea of Death to be seen no 
more. We have here an immense fissure, unparalleled in the 
world — a depression of more than a thousand feet below the 
level of the ocean, and which, apparently, must have existed 
before the destruction of the Cities of the Plain. Various 
conflicting theories of its formation have been advanced, but 
scarcely any reliable facts have been furnished. It is evidently, 
however, of volcanic origin, as the whole valley is one vast 
field of lava. 

The entire length of tins Ghor does not exceed one hundred 
miles in a direct line, and yet in that short distance we have 
every variety of climate and production found between Green- 
land and the equator. Standing on the Plain of Jericho, you 
can see to the north mountains covered with snow the year 
round ; and to the south, fields growing every plant and fruit 
of the tropics. 

The Jordan, that waters this valley, is very rapid, having a 
descent of over three thousand feet from the springs of Hasbeiya, 
its remotest source, to where it empties into the Salt Sea. 
And this river is so rapid, its course is almost one continuous 
cataract, and so crooked and broken by these numerous falls as 
to render it useless for commercial purposes. No vessels have 
ever navigated its waters, and not a city has ever flourished on 
its banks. A strange river, with a strange history. 

As a winter resort, I know of no place more inviting than 
the valley of the lower Jordan. Here we enjoy a salubrious 
climate, with perpetual summer, rendering those farniliar lines 
of Dr. "Watts, 

"Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood 
Stand dressed in living green," 



SITE OF GIL GAL. 



283 



literally true of this region, when viewed from the mountains 
east of the river. 

During our visit we witnessed here a singular phenomenon. 
Dark clouds and a furious rain-storm swept along the Judean 
ATountains to the west, and the Mountains of AEoab to the east, 
shutting out both ranges completely from our view ; while on 
the Plain of Jericho the sun was brightly shining — the valley 
of the Jordan, like a zone of light, separating the combating 
elements on either side. 

Among the most important discoveries made by the English 
Exploring Society is that of Gilgal, the first encampment of 
the Israelites in Canaan. This place was considered by Dr. 
Robinson as forever lost. But traces of the name and site have 
lately been found at Tell Jiljul, about one and a half miles east 
of the old tower known as the house of Zacchseus, in El Eiha, 
or modern Jericho, which agrees exactly with the location given 
by Josephus and Joshua. As the name indicates, we find here 
an undulating plain above the overflow of the Jordan, and pre- 
cisely on "the east border of Jericho;" the natives of the 
Ghor never cultivating the land eastward of this point. The 
spot is marked by a large tamarisk-tree near an old reservoir 
called Birket JiTjulieh. There are also other ruins, and many 
little mounds scattered over the plain, more than likely the 
ash-beds of the Israelites' camp-fires. 

If this is really Gilgal — and there seems no ground for doubt- 
ing it — what solemn recollections the spot awakens ! Ilere " the 
Captain of the Lord's host " appeared to Joshua, and the twelve 
memorial stones were set up by the children of Israel in com- 
memoration of their safe passage of the Jordan. Here they 
kept the Passover, and pitched the tabernacle for the first time 
in the Land of Promise. Here the manna ceased, and for the 



284 



BIBLE LANDS. 



first time they ate of the corn and fruit of the land they were 
henceforth to possess. Here, also, the male children born dur- 
ing their wanderings in the wilderness were circumcised, and 
in confirmation of the identity of the place, some of the flint- 




FLINT KNIVES. 



knives, probably nsed in the operation, have here lately been 
discovered, similar in every respect to those found in the tomb 
of Joshua at Timnath-Serah. 

This site is about five miles from the Jordan, and on the 
direct road from whero the Hebrews crossed to Jericho. The 
river at this point, during its low stage, is not over fifty yards 
wide, and four or five feet deep. This is the traditionary 
place of our Lord's baptism, of the healing of Naaman, and 
where Elijah passed over just before he mounted the skies in 
his chariot of fire ; and it is here the ceremony of the pilgrims 
bathing in the Sacred River is witnessed during the Paschal 
Moon, from year to year. On the Monday of Passion-week 
the number is incredible. Hundreds of tents dot the plain, 
and thousands of pilgrims from every part of the Orient, some 
on foot, others on horses — sometimes a whole family on a mule 
or camel — come to perform this religious rite. They usually 
first encamp on the higher banks of the Jordan near Jericho, 
recalling the tents of Israel when first pitched near this same 
spot, and in the early dawn, by the light of the moon and 



SITE OF ANCIENT JERICHO. 



287 



numerous torches, guarded by Turkish soldiers, they resume 
their pilgrimage for the river, and as the first rays of the morn- 
ing sun flash along the Judean Mountains, the mixed multitude, 
men, women, and children— red, black, and white— plunge into 
the turbid waters, in the firm though superstitious faith that 
all their sins shall be washed away. Some bathe entirely nude, 
but most of them in white dresses, which they carefully pre- 




until attired therein for their burial. With them, the great 
end of life has been attained. They have made the pilgrimage 
of the Holy Land ; have bathed in the sacred Jordan ; and 
now have nothing more to do but return home and die. 

Happily, there is no difficulty in determining the site of 
Jericho — the famous " City of Palm-trees" — the first city taken 
by Joshua in the conquest of the country. " The Fountain of 
Elisha," a magnificent spring gushing from beneath a partly 



288 



BIBLE LANDS. 



artificial knoll, is undoubtedly the same whose bitter waters 
were healed by the prophet whose name it bears, and settles 
the site of ancient Jericho. The remains of buildings, and the 
line of the old walls, may also be traced, inclosing several arti- 
ficial mounds, the largest having an elevation of at least one 
hundred feet. Some of these hillocks, in their interior, are of 
stone, others of sun-dried brick, and evidently belong to the 
Canaanitish period, and were constructed either for defensive 
purposes or as high places for the worship of their gods. The 
walls of the city were rudely built of undressed stone, and 
could not have been more than two miles round. 

Not a vestige of the house of "Rahab the harlot," is left; 
nor are we to suppose that this woman, who concealed the 
spies, was any thing more than the keeper of the inn of the 
place. She is called " harlot " because inn-keepers of old were 
generally of that class. Rahab, however, must have been an 
exception, as she subsequently married a prince in Judah, and 
became the mother of Boaz, who was husband of Ruth and 
head of the house of David, through whom, in the fullness of 
time, the Messiah came. 

The overthrow of the place was complete — not a house of 
any kind marks the spot. Occasionally a few gypsy tents may 
be seen among the ruins, but, owing to the curse pronounced 
upon it by Joshua, all efforts to rebuild the city have proved 
abortive. And, what is remarkable, we find all the facts of the 
taking of this stronghold preserved in a curious legend com- 
mon among the Bedouins of the plain. 

The Arabs say that there once stood upon this 1 site a city of 
brass ; that it was inhabited by infidels and surrounded by 
seven walls. Imam Aly made war against the infidels, and, 
mounting his horse, Meimoun, rode around the city seven times, 



QUARANTANIA. 



289 



and blew down the walls with a blast of his horn, the ramparts 
falling of their own accord — stone by stone. The day was 
drawing to a close, and Aly, fearing the infidels might escape, 
prayed to the snn, " Eeturn, O blessed light," and the sun 
rolled back, and went not down till all the inhabitants were 
destroyed. Here we have the leading features of the fall of 
Jericho and of Joshua's victory over the Amorites, in the very 
legends of the country. 

In the mountain just back of the ruins are many caves, 
where the two spies could easily have hidden for three days 
from their pursuers ; and on a low spur of this mountain is 
where " the sons of the prophets " are supposed to have stood 
when they beheld Elijah go up in the whirlwind to heaven. 

The Jericho of Christ's day, and where Herod the Great died, 
was about one and a half miles south of this. Nothing, how- 
ever, remains of this once opulent city except a large reservoir, 
perhaps the same in which Aristobulus was drowned, with 
some broken aqueducts, and other extensive ruins. Enough to 
identify the place, and show the vanity of man's greatest monu- 
ments. 

Directly back of Elisha's Fountain, and about six miles west 
of the river, overlooking ancient Jericho and the whole valley 
of the Jordan, rises one of the highest mountains of the Judean 
range, the traditionary scene of Christ's temptation and fast of 
forty days in the wilderness. This mountain, at least since the 
third century, has been regarded with peculiar interest as the 
locality of the interview between Satan and our Saviour ; 1 and 
round its base, during the ascetic age that followed the bloody 
persecutions of the early Christians, the first monasteries were 
erected. The remains of no less than seven of these monastic 

1 Matthew iv, 8. 

19 



290 



BIBLE LANDS. 



institutions, some of them equal to palaces in grandeur, may 
still be seen in this vicinity. 

The eastern face of the mountain is, in places, almost perpen- 
dicular, and on its towering summit, where the eagle delights 
to build her nest and soar in her airy flight, are the ruins of a 
Christian Church and strong fortress with rock-hewn fosse — the 
latter, probably, of the crusading period. The sides of this cliff 
are pierced by numerous natural grottoes, to which many of the 
disciples of our Lord, " of whom the world was not worthy," 
fled for safety when driven by their enemies into the " dens 
and caves of the earth." 1 In time, others followed them 
from choice, among whom were many monks from Egypt, cut- 
ting for themselves cells in the limestone rock, until the whole 
mountain became burrowed like an ant-hill. There are hun- 
dreds, if not thousands, of these caves, natural and artificial, 
not cut in regular galleries, but here, there, every-where, to suit 
the inclination of their inmates ; many of them inaccessible, and 
most of them dangerous to approach. The wonder is, how the 
old monks managed to reach their little cells, or to live when 
there, unless fed by the angels or ravens, as was Elijah, the 
illustrious founder, as they claim, of their order. 

By a zigzag path and rock-hewn steps we succeeded in reach- 
ing a platform running along the face of the mountain, which 
in places over-hung the path, affording to the hermits protec- 
tion in their walks from the sun and rain. At the southern 
end of this ledge we came to a large cavern communicating with 
a chapel and several small grottoes. The chapel had been 
frescoed, after the Byzantine style, the coloring in' places still 
looking fresh, and some of the paintings easily recognized, one 
of Christ being very distinct. St. Paul and Andrew appeared 

1 Hebrews xi, 3S. 



MOUNT OF TEMPTATION. 



291 



to be favorite subjects ; but we could see no trace of the Virgin 
and Child. The most curious fresco was a representation of the 
angels distributing white resurrection robes to the saints. 

We found a Greek monk from Xew York living here, who 
took us to many other cells. One was known as Elijah's, the 
approach to which was by a narrow staircase cut in the natural 
rock. There were several apartments here, one above another, 




CiUARANTANIA MOUNT OF TEMPTATION. 



the only entrance being through a hole eighteen inches in 
diameter cut in the ceiling of the lower cave, and which could 
only be reached by a ladder or rope. Even after climbing up 
to this opening, we found it exceedingly difficult to squeeze 
our small bodies through the contracted entrance. This second 
chamber was a chapel with an inscription over the altar, and 
the entire room at one time had been beautifully frescoed ; but 
the paintings and inscription were too much defaced for us to 



292 



BIBLE LANDS. 



make any thing intelligible out of them. There were still other 
apartments above these which we did not explore ; and south 
of a rent in the mountain, still higher up. numerous grottoes, 
the access to which was both difficult and perilous. 

In reaching these aerial habitations we had to clamber from 
rock to rock on our hands and knees, till we gained a shelf at 
a dizzy height, where we had just room to stand. Here we 
halted for breath ; then, crawling along the brink of the preci- 
pice on a narrow ledge, we came to a projecting rock round 
which it seemed impossible to pass. But others had gone be- 
fore, and we must follow. Rounding this point was frightful. 
TVe shudder to think of that hazardous feat. The path in 
places was so narrow that if a fragment of the rock had given 
way, or we had lost our balance, or had our feet slipped but 
an inch, instant death would have followed. 

The cells in this upper tier were generally hewn out of the 
rock, some nicely vaulted, with recesses for sleeping, and cis- 
terns to catch the rain-water as it dripped from the cliffs above ; 
others had rock-cut seats in front, on one of which, it is said, 
Christ sat. and where the old monks could sit far up on the 
mountain side, and enjoy a grand view of the Plain of Jericho 
and the Yalley of the Jordan, with Pisgah and the Mountains 
of Moab beyond. Most of the caves have a little window in 
front to admit light and air ; and among these pious anchorites 
a beautiful custom prevailed of putting alight in these windows 
at night, so that the whole mountain seemed illuminated with 
vestal lamps, as the hermits sat in the doors of their cells sing- 
ing their vesper hymns. 

The ascent to these upper grottoes is now so hazardous few 
persons will make the attempt, as it can only be accomplished 
by swinging with ropes from projecting crags over an abyss of 



BOXE CAVERNS. 



293 



great depth, the paths that once led to them having been either 
rilled up with rubbish or washed away by the storms of many 
centuries. 

One feels very solemn visiting this retreat of the early Chris- 
tians, and abode of those good though mistaken men, who, 
through a sense of duty, renounced the world and withdrew 
from all society, that they might commune more closely with 
God. In some of the cells human skeletons were found, with 
little earthen lamps by their side, that had expired with their 
lives, showing that the old hermits died where they lived, and 
were buried where they died. There are many of these sepul- 
chral vaults containing the bones or dust of those who had 
spent their lives in prayer, fasting, and meditation, in imitation 
of the Master, who on this same mount is said to have overcome 
the temptations of the wicked one. 

This mountain is separated from the main range on the south 
by Wady Kelt, along which there are also numerous caves, and 
through which the brook Cherith flows ; so that the locality of 
Christ's fasting was identical with that of Elijah's. Many of 
the caves near the foot of the mountain were formerly occu- 
pied during Lent by Christian pilgrims ; but, owing to the in- 
security of life and property under Turkish rule, they are now 
hiding-places for Bedouin robbers, or dens for wild beasts, and 
in some of them bones of camels, hyenas, and other animals, 
may be found to the depth of several feet ; fully explaining 
the formation of the old bone caverns without disturbing the 
chronology of the Bible. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



THE DEAD SEA. 

Lowest Sheet of Water on our Globe — Mountains of Pure Salt — Lot's Wife — De- 
struction of the Cities of the Plain — Site of Sodom and Gomorrah — Identity 
of Zoar — Singular Phenomenon — Nature's Sanitarium. 

E Lave made the entire circuit of this inland sea, in 
many respects the most remarkable body of water in the 
world ; and, with the exception of two places, where the mount- 
ains rise almost perpendicularly out of the water, we rode 
along the shore the whole distance, making the journey, in- 
cluding delays and necessary rests, in fourteen days. 

The sea covers an area of perhaps three hundred square 
miles, and is the lowest sheet of water on the globe, being 
thirteen hundred and twenty feet lower than the ocean level ; 
and its greatest depth of water thirteen hundred and ten feet, 
thus precluding the possibility of it ever having had any con- 
nection through the Arabah with the Red Sea. Then, there is 
a rocky ridge over seventeen hundred feet high, running en- 
tirely across Wady Arabah, through which the Jordan never 
could have flowed. 

Having no outlet, with the Jordan, Arnon and many other 
large streams flowing into it, there is only a variation of from 
ten to fifteen feet in its elevation and depression, being highest 
in the spring of the year, after the winter rains, though the 
Arabs say it rises and falls of itself, the rain having no effect 
upon it. This equilibrium is maintained solely by evaporation. 
The density of the water is very great, a gallon weighing 




APPLES OF SODOM. 



295 



twelve and a quarter pounds, and containing, besides bromine, 
potassium, and other minerals in a state of solution, three and a 
quarter pounds of pure salt, or twenty-eight per cent. ; while the 
water of the Atlantic contains only four per cent. Owing to 
the buoyancy of the water, bathing in it is a great luxury and 
perfectly safe, it being impossible for a person to sink. An 
egg that would sink in the Mediterranean will float half out of 
water in this sea ; and a vessel which would float with ease here 
would sink instantly in the Atlantic or any other ocean. Of 
course, no fish can live in such a briny deep. Those carried 
into it by the Jordan instantly die, and may be found floating 
on the surface near the mouth of the river. The impression 
that this sea is always a dead calm, sending forth poisonous 
vapors, with the angel of death brooding over it, is erro- 
neous. Storms frequently prevail here, the waves dashing 
high up on its shores : and we have seen birds flying over it 
and ducks swimming far out on its surface. There, however, 
is no animal or vegetable life in the sea itself. "Nor is there 
any vegetable life along its shores ; but up the valleys down 
which the sweet, pure waters flow from mountain springs 
every tropical plant grows luxuriantly, in some places the 
shrubbery crowding down to the very edge of the sea ; and in 
these groves of palm, juniper, and oleander, you will find birds 
of every hue and song. Several of these fresh-water streams 
empty into the sea near its southern extremity, causing the 
arid " desert to rejoice and blossom as the rose." Nothing could 
surpass the productiveness of " The Safieh," as this district is 
called ; a rich, well- watered valley, " even as the garden of the 
Lord," about six miles long from north to south, and two wide. 
In this oasis the osher-tree, or apple of Sodom, acacia, camphor, 
indigo, jujube, and other rare plants, all grow spontaneously. 



296 



BIBLE LANDS. 



The osher-tree generally grows to the height of ten or twelve 
feet, has a large oval leaf, and when cut or broken discharges 
a milky fluid, said to be fatal to the sight if applied to the 
eyes. The fruit, when ripe, in color and size resembles an 
ordinary yellow apple, rather beautiful to the eye, but void of 
substance. It is not, however, filled with ashes, as commonly 
supposed, but with air, and when pressed explodes like a puff- 
ball, emitting smoke and a sulphurous smell, but containing 
nothing save a few small seeds and thin silky fibers, the latter 
very combustible, which the Arabs, not having matches, use as 
tinder, with their steel and flint, in firing their matchlocks and 
lighting their pipes. 

The Bedouin tribes in this fertile valley are of the lowest 
type of human beings. A more desperate, savage, and degraded 
set of cut-throats and robbers are not to be found among 
Ishmael's depraved sons. Generally they are as black as Af- 
ricans, entirely nude, and licentious as the Sodomites of old ; 
ever on the lookout for victims, and ready for the perpetration 
of any crime. Our adventures among these miserable wretches 
were too horrible to relate. 

Directly west of this Eden, across the Gharandel, is a great 
salt plain, entirely destitute of vegetation, the supposed site of 
Sodom, and where David overthrew the Edomites. The whole 
plain is a vast slime-pit, incrusted with salt, beneath which is a 
black, greasy marl, very slippery, rendering riding over it both 
difficult and dangerous. 

As a general thing the mountains bordering this sea present 
a picture of utter desolation, as if scathed with lightning and 
riven with thunder-bolts. Many of the rocks are igneous, emit- 
ting fire when struck, and an odor very much like a Lucifer 
match. Slime-pits and sulphur springs are found along the 



LOT'S WIFE. 



297 



shore, and between the head of the sea and Jericho hills of 
almost pure sulphur ; also gypsum, asphaltum, and black bitu- 
minous blocks, mixed with gravel and sulphur, strew the beach, 
as if thrown together by some great convulsion, and pure bitu- 
men in large quantities may at times be found floating on the 
surface. The sea at night, when the water is ruffled by the 
w r ind, is one sheet of phosphorescent foam, and the waves as 
they break upon the shore throw a sepulchral light upon the 
rocks that wall in this dismal gulf — reminding one of the 




MOUNTAINS EAST OF THE DEAD SEA. 



" lake of lire," and may have suggested this imagery to the 
Apostle John. 

Jebel TJsdum, or mountain of Sodom, at the south-west end, is . 
a ridge of almost pure rock-salt, extending for about five miles 
along the shore, and rising perhaps two hundred and fifty feet 
above the sea. There are many deep clefts in the range, leaving 
detached portions of salt standing like pillars in every fantastic 
shape, some of them at least one hundred feet high, any one 
of which would answer very w T ell for " Lot's wife ; " one in par- 



298 



BIBLE LANDS. 



ticular, on the very top of the cliff, from a certain stand-point 
resembles a woman in hasty flight, with her disheveled hair and 
torn garments flying in the wind, and her head slightly turned, 
as if looking back over her left shoulder on the burning cities 
from which she is fleeing for her life. 

There is nothing very remarkable in the statement concern- 
ing the fate of this disobedient woman. From the narrative, it 
appears the Lord said unto Lot and his family, " Up, get you 
out of this place. Escape for thy life ; look not behind thee, 
neither stay thou in all the plain, lest thou be consumed." They 
started on their flight. " But his wife looked back, . . . and 
she became a pillar of salt." 1 Probably in the very act of dis- 
obedience she was struck dead with a thunderbolt, or suffocated 
with the sulphurous fumes that pervaded the valley, as the 
elder Pliny in the destruction of Pompeii. It would have been 
miraculous had she become a sand-stone or lime-stone pillar. But 
any man's wife would become a pillar of salt in this region if 
allowed to remain here long enough. No corpse would ever 
decompose on the shores of this sea, and if permitted to remain 
here would naturally become incrusted with salt, and in time 
a pillar of salt. These pillars are formed by secretion, from 
the spray, mist, and saline exhalations of the sea, and are 
always growing larger. So it is literally true, that if you 
break a piece off it will form on anew. 

In one place we found a tunnel or cavern leading into the very 
heart of the mountain, into which we rode several hundred feet, 
until it became too dark to venture farther. It looked beauti- 
ful by the light of a few matches and candles, the vaulted 
roof and sides sparkling as of alabaster. Many grottoes led off 
to the right and left, all salt, nothing but salt, the whole mount- 
genesis xix, 14, 17, 26. 



SITE OF THE CITIES OF THE PLAIN. 299 

ain salt ! During heavy rains a stream of briny water runs 
through this cavern to the sea, only a few rods distant. This 
same rock formation, to all appearance the same vein of salt, 
crops out of the mountain east of the sea between the Fortress 
of Machserus and the Hot Springs of Callirrhoe, a fact, we 
believe, never before noticed. 

The precise location of the Cities of the Plain will probably 
never be known. If not submerged, they are buried many feet 
beneath the soft marl constantly washing down from the sur- 
rounding hills and filling up the valley. The opinion has long 
obtained that Sodom was situated on the great salt plain at the 
base of Jebel Usdum, south of the sea. Recently some re- 
markable ruins have been discovered at Gumran, two miles 
north of Ain Feshkah, near the northern end of the sea, and 
supposed, from a similarity of name, to be the site of Gomor- 
rah. The ruins consist of a rude wall, a small reservoir built 
of unhewn stone, and a mass of indistinguishable rubbish of old 
houses and broken pottery. The most interesting feature of 
the place is the great number of graves in the vicinity, perhaps 
a thousand. And what is more singular, the bodies all lie with 
their heads to the south ; so they cannot be Jewish, Moham- 
medan, or Christian. The tombs are about five feet deep, with a 
vault for the body at the bottom. The receptacle for the corpse 
is built of large sun-dried bricks fifteen inches long, eleven wide, 
and nine inches thick. Rough upright stones mark the head 
and feet, and the surface of the graves is rudely paved with the 
same material. ~No inscription or device has yet been found to 
indicate the race or age to which these tombs belong, and all 
that has been written on the identity of this place with Gomor- 
rah is hypothetical. Of the other cities destroyed, Admah and 
Zeboim, all traces have long since disappeared. 



300 



BIBLE LANDS. 



The identity of Zoar is not so difficult, as down to the four- 
teenth century of our era it was a place of considerable impor- 
tance. All the fathers and historians of the Church locate it 
south-east of the Dead Sea, on the road leading from " The Sa- 
fieh " to Kerak ; and we find here, on a spur of the mountain, six 
hundred and fifty feet above the water, extensive ruins that 
have long been regarded as the remains of the " little city " to 
which Lot escaped when driven from Sodom. Zoar was made 
an Episcopal See at an early period, and its Bishop was present 
and took an active part in the Council of Chalcedon, A. D. 451. 
Being in the province of Kerak and Ar, it must have been south 
of the Arnon. It was also one of the five Cities of the Plain ; 
so could not have been where Dr. Tristram locates it, on the 
western slope of Pisgah, several thousand feet above the plain. 
Lot was permitted to enter this city because the mountain was 
too distant for him to reach. Why, then, locate it on the mount- 
ain, and so far from the scene of danger ? 

Both Isaiah and Jeremiah refer to it among the cities of 
Moab. It is never mentioned as belonging to Israel, but always 
as within the territory of Moab ; so could not have been north 
of the river Arnon, but somewhere very near the site we have 
named. We might also add, this situation can be distinctly 
seen from the mountain east of Bethel, where Lot and his 
uncle Abraham parted. Back of these ruins the mountain 
rises abruptly, and there are numerous caves among the rocks, 
one of which is pointed out as the cave of Lot ; and a short 
distance above this, along the sea-shore, is a curious pillar, 
not of salt but sand-stone, resembling very much a female 
with a water-jar in her right hand, and a child on her left 
shoulder, called by the natives Bint Sheik Lut — the " Daughter 
of Sheik Lot." We confess, however, that little is to be found 



DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH. 301 



among these shapeless ruins to satisfy the inquisitive mind ; and 
as to the other cities, we are fully convinced, after the most thor- 
ough investigation of the whole plain, that there is nothing 
above ground by which they can be identified or their sites 
determined. 

From the topography of the whole Ghor, and the peculiar 
geological formations, such as banks of water-worn shingles, 
with deposits of salt and sulphur, there must have been a sea 
or fresh-water lake in this valley long prior to the overthrow 
of Sodom and Gomorrah, and there is no reason for believing 
that these cities were submerged, or that their destruction was 
brought about by any great geological disturbance. 

Among the mountains that border the sea on the east there 
are several craters, and other evidences of extinct volcanoes. 
The road leading north from Machgerus down to the Zurka 
Main runs over great fields of lava, scoria, and cinders, very 
much like the descent of Yesuvius. The Cities of the Plain 
were, more than likely, constructed of perishable materials, 
perhaps sun-dried bricks mixed with cut straw, like Damascus 
and other places in the East, as the remains of such brick-kilns 
still exist on the plain near ancient Jericho. In the erection 
of their buildings, bitumen, which abounds in this region, was 
probably used instead of mortar, and the houses were covered, 
as in Babylon, with a matting made of rushes coated with 
bituminous slime, and supported by wooden beams. 

From the Mosaic account it appears the cities were destroyed, 
not by water but fire, very much as Pompeii and Herculaneum, 
probably by a shower of hot sulphurous ashes from some neigh- 
boring volcano, leaving no trace of their sites. This would lit- 
erally be a rain of " brimstone and fire," entirely consuming the 
combustible material of which they were composed. And the 



302 



BIBLE LANDS. 



niter thrown out by the eruption would transform the rich vale 
of Siddim into the present alkali desert, and the fresh water 
lake into this briny sea. It also appears, as before stated, that 
the whole lower valley of the Jordan is nothing but a bed of 
lava, indicating some such volcanic action. 

The most remarkable feature of this most remarkable sea is, 
that it appears to be subsiding or growing less every year. The 
water lines on the beach, of which there are three distinct levels,, 
clearly indicate this ; and, what is more strange, the bottom 
seems to be receding, or falling oat ; that is, the surface is sink- 
ing lower, and the sea becoming deeper. When Lieut. Lynch 
made his survey in 1848, there were but three fathoms at the 
ford opposite the Lisan, and many old Arabs say they could 
easily ride across on their camels when they were boys. Now 
there is not less than thirty or forty feet of water at the lowest 
point where once it was fordable, and yet the shore line is 
lower than it was then. At another place a portion that was 
frequently dry ten years ago is now completely submerged. 
This is true of all south of the peninsula ; instead of filling up 
with the debris washed down from the neighboring hills by a 
hundred mountain torrents, it is actually growing deeper. We 
have no explanation of this phenomenon, unless on the suppo- 
sition that the prevailing winds being from the south and west r 
a current is created which carries the sediment from the shal- 
low portion at the lower end into the almost fathomless depths 
farther north. This, however, would not explain the settling 
of the surface, which perhaps could be accounted for by 
increased evaporation. 

The Bedouins call this lake, Bahr Lut — the " Sea of Lot" — 
and all traditions among these tribes touching this locality, 
together with the sea and all its surroundings, fully corroborate- 



CORROBORATION OF SCRIPTURE. 



303 



the inspired record. The Scriptures are so legibly written 
along the desolate shores of this desolate sea, that a person 
visiting this region who had never heard of the destruction of 
Sodom and Gomorrah, would infer from the sterility and death- 
like solitude which prevail, that nothing but some great judg- 
ment from the Almighty could ever have produced such utter 
desolation. "We find here " a waste land that smoketh, and a 
fruitful land turned into saltness for the wickedness of them 
that dwelt therein ; " 1 so that " no man shall abide there, nei- 
ther shall a son of man dwell in it ; and the stranger that shall 
come from a far land shall say, . . . "Wherefore hath the Lord 
done thus unto this land ? What meaneth the heat of this 
great anger? . . . The whole land is brimstone, and salt, and 
burning." 2 Lieutenant Lynch, in his report upon this region, 
says: "We entered upon this sea with conflicting opinions. 
One of our party was skeptical, and another a professed unbe- 
liever. After twenty-two days' close investigation, if I am 
not mistaken, we are unanimous in the conviction of the truth 
of the Scripture account of the destruction of the Cities of the 
Plain. And this conclusion I record as a protest against the 
shallow deduction of those who would be unbelievers." 

■In summer, at this great depth below the ocean, and walled 
in by mountains four thousand feet high, the atmosphere is 
very hot and sultry. The average temperature on the shores of 
this sea for the first ten days in June, 1877, was one hundred 
and four degrees in the shade ; but there is nothing in this heat 
deleterious to health. In winter, however, the climate is per- 
fectly delightful — no frost, miasma, or chilling winds, but a 
salubrious, invigorating, almost intoxicating atmosphere. Here 
vou can "run and not weary," climb the highest mountains 

1 Psalm cvii, 34 ; Jeremiah xlix, 18. 2 Deuteronomy xxix, 22, 24. 



304 



BIBLE LANDS. 



without any sense of fatigue, and breathe freely with one lung, 
or half a lung. The effect of the bracing air is really wonder- 
ful. You feel as though you could " run through a troop, or 
leap over a wall." Bathing here is delicious. You have also 
the choice of hot or cold baths, in fresh, salt, or sulphur fount- 
ains along the shore. 

The waters of the sea have not that dull, leaden appearance 
described by some travelers, but are as clear as Lake George, 
sometimes of a greenish tint, and often look as blue as the 
Mediterranean. And the purple tint of the mountains in the 
rays of the setting sun, reflected from a sky of unequaled 
beauty, are often gorgeous. As Mr. Palmer remarks, " The 
coloring of the Dead Sea, and its neighborhood, when the 
atmosphere is clear, is simply magnificent." 

Instead of the exhalations from the sea being injurious, as 
has been supposed, they seem to sharpen the appetite, quicken 
the intellect, and impart new life to the whole physical system. 
As it seldom rains in the Ghor, the days are generally bright 
and cheerful, the nights dry and balmy, lulling the weary into 
refreshing slumbers, from which they awake "rejoicing as a 
strong man to run a race." 

A steamer on this sea for excursions, and a good hotel near 
its shores, would make this a most charming winter resort for 
invalids, nature's own sanitarium for suffering mortals. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



FOKTKESS OF MASADA AND CLIFF OF ZIZ. 

Last Stronghold of the Jews — Great Strength of the Fortress — Tragic End of the 
Garrison— The Silence of Death— Engedi— Cliff of Ziz— Rocks of the Wild 
Goats — Burning Bush — Stones of Witness. 

"T)EKCHED, like an eagle's nest, on one of the boldest cliffs 



-1- along the western shores of the Dead Sea, and overlooking 
a scene of natural desolation nnequaled on the globe, is the re- 
nowned fortress of Masada, the last stronghold taken bj the 
Romans in the conquest of Palestine. 

This celebrated fortress was erected by Jonathan Maccabsens, 
about the year 160 B. C, but afterward enlarged and greatly 
strengthened by Herod the Great, who surrounded it with walls 
and towers of great strength, and supplied it with stores and 
arms for ten thousand men, designing it as a place of refuge 
for himself in case of rebellion among the Jews, or Cleopatra 
transferring his kingdom to Mark Antony, of which the queen 
of Egypt had given some intimations. 

Josephus describes the castle and fortress as " built on a rock 
prodigiously craggy, and inaccessible enough to strike the stout- 
est man living with horror." 1 All which we found to be strict- 
ly true ; the rock rising almost perpendicularly one thousand 
two hundred and fifty feet above the sea, and separated from 
the mountain range by deep chasms apparently impassable. A 
round tower with double walls, and other extensive ruins on a 
detached ledge to the north — probably the "beautiful and 




1 Jewish Wars, vii, 8. 



20 



306 



BIBLE LANDS. 



richly garnished " palace of Herod, where his wife, the queenly 
and matchless Mariamne, was cruelly imprisoned before her 
death, are entirely inaccessible, the secret passage from the 
palace to the citadel being still undiscovered. 

Almost the only approach to this aerial fortress was by a ser- 
pentine path called the " Snake," so narrow and difficult that to 
slip or make a misstep was certain death to the bold intruder. 
Even this perilous path was so guarded by strong towers as to 
render the place next to impregnable. One hour of climbing, 
falling, and sweating under the scorching rays of the noonday 
sun, brought us to the great causeway thrown up by the Ro- 
mans from the mountain in the rear, to the isolated castle in 
front, over which we easily passed, and soon gained the es- 
planade of the fortress, a platform about one mile in circumfer- 
ence. 

The view from this lofty position was magnificently wild 
and drear. The whole of the Dead Sea and all trans- Jord an ic 
Palestine, with the Jordan Yalley to the north, and the great 
Salt Plain to the south, were spread out before us. The breast- 
works and other fortifications constructed by the Romans when 
they laid siege to this stronghold, nearly two thousand years 
ago, may still be distinctly traced on the plain below and up 
the mountain side, in some instances looking as if vacated but 
yesterday. 

Of Masada little remains. There was only one gate-way to 
the fortress, which still stands almost perfect, the enemy hav- 
ing entered through a breach to the north of it; but the wall 
and towers on the summit have all been toppled over. The 
ruin of a synagogue, with tessellated floors, near the center of 
the platform, is in good preservation, and undoubtedly is the 
oldest one in existence — a cut of which we insert as sketched 



GREAT STRENGTH OF THE FORTRESS. 



307 



by Dr. Ridgaway on the spot. Much broken pottery and glass 
covered the ground. Several rock-hewn cisterns and natural 
caves are within the inclosure, and the remains of many large 
buildings may still be seen. The mountain near the top is 
pierced with numerous galleries, one above another, running 
along the face with loop-holes for the archers. "We counted 
four tiers of embrasures facing the north, with parapet walls in 
front and passage ways from one to another cut in the solid 
rock, and flanked by strong towers at the angles. The position, 
naturally strong, was rendered doubly so by art ; gallery above 
gallery, turret on turret, and fortress within fortress ! 




SYNAGOGUE IX MASADA. 



After the fall of Jerusalem, Herodium. and Machseras, Fla- 
vins Silva, now in command of the Roman army, led all his 
forces against Masada, the last important post held by the Jews. 
The place was defended by the Sicarii, a class of Jewish des- 
peradoes, or freebooters, whose only bond of union was their 
hostility to the Romans. They were under the command of 
Eleazar, a man of great bravery and influence among his fol- 
lowers, and were prepared to make a most desperate resist- 
ance. 

Silva first seized a high projecting rock called " the lance," 



308 



BIBLE LANDS. 



immediately in the rear of the fortress, from which he raised 
a causeway over against the outer ramparts of the citadel by 
filling up a deep ravine, thus enabling his engines of war to 
play upon the walls. He also constructed a tower sixty cubits 
high, plated with iron, from which scorpions and firebrands 
were hurled against the doomed garrison. 

Those within long and stubbornly resisted any attempt on 
the part of the enemy to scale their works, but when they saw 
their massive walls crumble beneath the ponderous strokes of 
immense battering-rams, and their wooden defenses swept away 
by the devouring flames maddened by a furious wind, they 
gave up all as lost, and prepared like men to meet their fate. 

The Romans having carried the outer walls after a long, des- 
perate struggle, were preparing to storm the citadel as night 
dropped her curtain upon the bloody scene, and they retired to 
their quarters, expecting on the morrow to return, complete 
their work, and gather their spoils, little dreaming of the bloody 
tragedy to be enacted within the fortress during that night of 
horrors. 

Eleazar, despairing of any help from without, determined 
never to surrender to his sworn enemies ; and, conscious of his 
own inability to hold out longer, called a council of war ; set 
before his comrades the hopelessness of a further resistance ; 
told them of the disgrace and sufferings that awaited them if 
they capitulated ; related the wrongs the Romans had inflicted 
upon their nation ; then appealed to their religious convictions, 
showing how noble it would be to die as martyrs for their G-od, 
and proposed that all their wealth be gathered into the castle 
and destroyed by fire ; that each husband murder his own wife 
and children ; that ten men be selected by lot to slaughter the 
rest, and finally one from the ten to complete the work of death 



TRAGIC EXD OF THE GARRISON. 



309 



by the suicide of himself, after all his brethren were dead. 
The Sicarii, ever ready to obey their leader, at once accepted 
the proposal. Their vast treasures were soon given to the 
names. Infatuated husbands and fathers first affectionately 
embraced, then murdered their own wives and offspring. The 
men chosen to slay their fellow-soldiers did faithfully their 
work. Throughout the fortress during that night of blood, 
the cry of death was every-where heard, and when the morning 
dawned nine hundred and sixty victims lay dead upon the 
ground. Two women and five children who concealed them- 
selves in a cave were all that survived to tell the tale of woe. 

In the morning the Romans entered, but found death and 
destruction had gone before, leaving them an empty victory 
after their long siege. Thus the prophecy was fulfilled, " Be- 
hold your house is left unto you desolate." 

Two hours north of Masada is Engedi, the site of ancient 
Hazezon-tamar, a city of the Amorites older than Sodom or 
Gomorrah. It was not far from. here, in the " Yale of Siddim," 
perhaps near the slime-pits a few miles south of this, that the 
kings of Mesopotamia defeated the five kings of the cities of 
the plain, carrying off Lot among their prisoners, who was aft- 
erward rescued by his uncle, Abraham. 

About four hundred feet above the sea the celebrated 
"Fountain of the Kid," that gives its name to the place, 
gushes from the mountain side, distributing its warm, sweet 
waters through a thousand channels over the fields below, 
changing the arid desert into a blooming garden, fragrant with 
tropical flowers and fruits. 

" The Wilderness of Engedi," where David found a hidino;- 
place from Saul, is a desolate tract of country lying directly 
west of this ; and it was here, in one of the numerous caves 



310 



BIBLE LAA T DS. 



among " the rocks of the wild goats,*' probably Adullam, that 
the son of Jesse cut off the skirt of the kings robe. 

This is still the highway and usual route between Moab and 
"Western Palestine. The road winds round the southern end of 
the sea, up its western shore, thence by the " Cliff of Ziz " to 
Hebron or Jerusalem. Nothing could be more frightful than 




DEAD SEA FROM ENGEDI. 



crossing this mountain pass ; several times we had to unload 
our poor mules, and with ropes help them up the acclivity. 
At some points as we looked ahead it seemed utterly impossi- 
ble for man or beast to scale such rocks ; but after three hours 
of hard climbing we accomplished without serious accident the 
renowned passage of the " Cliff of Ziz." 



WILD GOATS, BUKNTNG BUSH, ETC. 311 

While encamped at Engedi some Arabs brought in a " wild 
goat " they had just killed among the rocks, showing that this 
animal is still found in the neighborhood. "We also had here 
a fine exhibition of the "Burning Bush." There is a tree 
peculiar to this region, and which, when cut down or dying 
naturally, sends forth numerous branches or parasites from 
near the ground, forming a thick cluster of bushes large as a 
shock of corn. At night the natives, to light up their camp, 
set fire to the dry stump in the center, and the flames slowly 
spread to the green twigs until the whole is ablaze and grad- 
ually consumed. A single brush heap will burn for several 
hours, and in the darkness looks beautiful. It was thus the 
Almighty manifested himself to his servant Moses on Horeb, 
only in that instance the bush was not consumed, symbolizing 
God's care for his people amid the fiery trials of earth. 

"We observed also a beautiful custom among the Arabs of 
commemorating every important event, and marking every 
prominent point, by setting up memorial stones, as Samuel 
raised his Ebenezer at Mizpeh ; and every good Christian or 
Mussulman, in passing these memorials, is expected to add 
thereto his " stone of witness." These Ebenezers you will find 
on almost every high place in Palestine, and scarcely a pilgrim 
visits the Holy Land without commemorating the event by 
setting up a stone in acknowledgment of God's goodness and 
protection. 

On a spur of the mountain, about midway between Engedi 
and Jebel Usdum, commanding a fine view of Mount Hor and 
the tomb of Aaron far away to the south, there is an immense 
pile of witness stones, the accumulation of ages, and every year 
growing larger, as every Bedouin and traveler passing that way 
contributes his stone to the heap. Having a great reverence 



312 



BIBLE LANDS. 



for the memory of Aaron, we, of course, added our testimony 
to the countless multitude of witnesses, then resumed our 
journey, bidding adieu to the Valley of the Dead Sea. Even 
passing travelers thus adopt the peculiar customs of Palestine ; 
and so fully do all these regions claim our veneration — by his- 
torical ruins and by traditional sites ; by inspired records and 
by Mohammedan legends ; and especially by an indescribable 
antique and oriental quality pervading every sight and sound 
and feeling — that, in spite of ourselves, we are transported to 
other days, and in fancy live again the lives of patriarchs and 
judges, of prophets and monarchs, of Christian disciples and 
knightly crusaders. 




Farthing— Two Mites Widow's Mite. 

COINS USED IN TIME OP CHRIST. 



* 



PART III. 

TEANS -JOED ANIC PALESTINE. 

" And Moses gave unto the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and 
unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of 
the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities 
thereof, from the river Arnon unto Mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east." 
Num. xxxii, 33; Josh, xii, 1. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE LAND OF MOAB. 

Beyond Jordan — Rich, unexplored Region — First settled by the Descendants of 
Lot — Conquered by Moses — Given to Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh — Now over- 
run by the wild Sons of Ishmael — Castle of Kerak — Fortress of Machaerus. 

DIRECTLY east of Jerusalem, beyond the Jordan, and over- 
looking the whole of western Palestine, is the almost un- 
known and unexplored region generally known as Pergea — the 
land beyond ; a vast tract of high rolling table-land lying at 
least four thousand feet above the valley of the Dead Sea, and 
extending eastward to the great Desert which stretches away 
to the Euphrates. 

This portion of Syria, from south of the Dead Sea to Mount 
Ilermon, usually referred to in Jewish history as the land of 
Moab, Gilead, and Bashan, was first permanently settled by the 
Moabites and Ammonites, the descendants of Lot's two sons, 
Moab and Ben-ammi. 1 It was among the first countries con- 
quered by the Israelites, and, on account of its rich pasturage, 
given to Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh as their 
inheritance, because " they had much cattle." 2 In the eighth 
century B. C. this country was invaded by the Assyrians, and 
these tribes were carried away captives into Assyria. 3 And 
from that period down to our era the land was successively oc- 
cupied by the Assyrians, Greeks, and Romans, the remains of 
whose wealth and power may still be seen in the magnificent 
ruins found scattered all over this part of Palestine. ~No dis- 

1 Genesis xix, 37. 2 Deuteronomy iii, 10. 3 1 Chronicles v, 26. 



316 



BIBLE LAUDS. 



trict of equal extent on the face of the earth can furnish such 
remarkable remains of ancient races. 

After the fall of the Eoman empire, the wild sons of Ish- 
mael from the Arabian Desert overran the country, and to the 
present have retained their possession. So that for centuries 
this whole territory, including Edom, so intimately connected 
with Jewish history, has been inaccessible to travelers. 

The Bedouins who occupy this land are a warlike, lawless, 
independent race, very much like our North American Indians. 
They have no permanent settlements — have never submitted to 
Turkish rule, pay tribute to no king — lead a nomadic life, 
dwelling in tents, and roaming from place to place as necessity 
may require, the most independent people in the world. The 
men pride themselves in being warriors, and are generally seen 
mounted on splendid Arab mares. You never see a Bedouin 
chieftain riding a horse. The women do all the drudgery, and 
are treated as mere slaves. The principal occupation of these 
tribes is plunder ; their religion, Mohammedan, with the sim- 
ple creed, Love Allah, kill your neighbor, and pray with the 
face toward Mecca five times a day. Owing to their preda- 
tory character, their greed for backsheesh, and great hatred for 
Christians, this interesting field, which, without doubt, contains 
the oldest monuments of man, remains almost unexplored. 

It is only within a few years that foreigners, under any cir- 
cumstances, ha\e been allowed to enter this "no man's land," 
as it is called. In company with Dr. James Strong and his 
party, under the American flag, with a firman from the Sultan, 
and letters from the Pasha of the Belka, by paying liberal 
tribute we made our first tour of this disputed territory in the 
spring of 1874. 

Xo portion of the United States is richer than this high 



THE LAND OF BEULAH. 



317 



plateau, containing several thousand square miles of well watered, 
fertile land, covered with flocks and herds, and black with 
Bedouin tents. The soil is a rich limestone loam, capable of 
supporting an immense population, and of growing almost any 
thing, reminding one very much of the rich rolling prairies of 
the Western States. 

The central portion of this region is known among the na- 
tives as the Belka, and from its natural productiveness, its salu- 
brious chmate, and the grand outlook from the lofty mountains, 
taking in the whole of the Land of Promise from " Dan to 
Beer-sheba," and " from the Jordan to the uttermost sea," with 
Jerusalem, " the city of God," as the central figure, probably 
suggested to Isaiah Iris imagery of the Land of Beulah, which 
Bunyan has so beautifully woven into allegory, illustrating the 
repose experienced by the Christian warrior after having over- 
come the world, and the joy which enraptures his soul, when, 
with the heavenly Canaan and the Celestial City in view, he 
descends into the shadowy valley of death, crosses in safety 
the Jordan, and passes triumphantly home. 

The Land of Moab included the southern part of this terri- 
tory from Edom to the Mountains of Gilead, a vast, almost un- 
broken plateau of the richest soil, capable of sustaining a dense 
population. TThen first conquered by the Israelites, Moses 
took among other spoils six hundred and seventy-five thousand 
sheep, and seventy-two thousand beeves ; and after it became 
tributary to Israel we find the king of Moab paying as a rev- 
enue to the king of Israel two hundred thousand lambs and 
rams. 1 These figures do not astonish us after seeing the 
natural productiveness of the country, and the numerous ruins 
that almost literally cover its surface. 

1 2 Kings iii, 4. 



318 



.BIBLE LAjNDS. 



Some of these ruins, as of Eabbali Amnion, are immense; 
hundreds of beautiful granite and marble columns strew the 
ground, some of them sixty feet long and fifteen or twenty 
feet in circumference. One very unique building near the 
river must have been designed for a tomb ; or, perhaps, was 
the repository of the " iron bedstead " 1 of Og, the giant king of 
Bashan. The gate-Avay on the north, before which Uriah proba- 




RABBAH AMMON. 



bly fell, is a wonderful piece of workmanship, and of itself 
would repay a trip from America to see. This city must have 
been destroyed by an earthquake, as the columns generally lie 
in one direction, as if prostrated at the same moment by some 
sudden shock or upheaval of the earth. TTe saw many camels 
feeding among the ruins, literally fulfilling the prediction of 

1 Deuteronomy iii, 11. 



KABBAH AMMOK 



319 



Ezekiel, " I will make Pabbah a stable for camels." 1 Of Hesh- 
bon, the royal city of Sihoii, king of the Amorites, but little re- 
mains. Her famous fish-pools are in ruins; her walls lie in 
the dust ; and in looking over her waste places one is ready to 
adopt the plaintive language of Isaiah, " I will water thee with 
my tears, O Heshbon." 2 Near Pabbath-Moab we found the 
remains of a large temple, facing the east, with portico in front, 
and many broken pillars, and richly carved capitals, and frag- 
ments of cornice lying around. Among the rubbish were sev- 
eral sculptured figures of lions and other animals, and on the 
end of a stone two feet square and four feet long was carved 
the head of a woman in alto relievo. The hair was parted in 
the center, and hung in ringlets over the sides of the face, rest- 
ing gracefully on the shoulders. There seemed to be a crescent 
supporting the figure, with rays of light radiating from the 
head. The features were youthful and intellectual; and, I 
have no doubt, the image belonged to the temple close by, and 
was designed to represent Ashtaroth, the queen of heaven and 
consort of Baal, the favorite goddess of the old Phoenicians, 
whose first settlements, long anterior to the founding of Tyre 
or Sidon, were east of the Dead Sea and in this immediate 
neighborhood. 

Pabbath-Moab, the Areopolis of the Greeks, became the 
capital of Moab after the Amorites took possession of that por- 
tion of the territory lying north of the river Arnon ; and after 
the fall of Petra it was made the metropolis of Palestina Tertia. 
The place is now, and has been for centuries, entirely deserted. 
The old Roman road from Petra, running north, passes through 
it, along which may still be seen some of the mile-stones giving 
the distance in Ponian numerals to unknown places. Many of 

1 Ezekiel xxv, 5. 2 Isaiah xv, 9. 



320 



BIBLE LANDS. 



tlie streets are clearly defined. The gate-ways are plainly 
marked. Some beautiful columns are still standing, and half 
buried in rubbish are the remains of tombs, temples, theaters, 
and other edifices, showing the extent and grandeur of the city 
that was " laid waste and brought to silence in a night.". 1 

" The road to the Arnon," along which the children of Israel 
must have traveled when they came up out of Egypt, may still 
be traced from here to the " city in the midst of the river," 8 
and in places the ruts may still be seen, worn by chariot wheels 
in its solid bed. Wady Mojib, through which the Arnon flows, 
formed the southern boundary of trans-Jordanic Palestine and 
the northern boundary of Moab after the conquest of the coun- 
try by the Israelites — a natural barrier, standing like a wall of 
iron two thousand feet high between the two nations. The 
passage of this chasm was truly frightful. It was with great 
difficulty we succeeded in getting down to the river, as in places 
the bluffs were almost perpendicular ; and the only way we 
could make the ascent was by a zigzag path through clefts in 
the rocks. Sometimes it appeared like going up a winding 
staircase, and in a few instances we had to dismount, and were 
drawn up by holding on to our horses' tails. 

A few miles south of ancient Ar is the renowned fortress 
and city of Kerak, the Kir-hareseth of the Bible, 8 one of the 
most remarkable ruins in the world. 

As the name signifies, this is emphatically a city on a hill, 
being situated on a towering rock at least one thousand feet 
above the surrounding valleys, and four thousand three hun- 
dred and ninety feet above the Dead Sea at its base. And 
yet even this elevated platform is commanded by the neigh- 
boring heights, which inclose it on all sides except the west. 

1 Isaiah xv, 1. 2 Joshua xiii, 9. 3 Isaiah xvi, V. 



CASTLE OF EEEAK. 



323 



On these heights the armies of Israel were encamped when 
" the slingers went abont it and smote it." 1 Naturally a strong 
position, it was rendered by art almost impregnable. Formerly, 
the only entrances were through two dark, crooked tunnels cut 
out of the solid rock, and commanded by fortifications of great 
strength. Even the citadel was so isolated from the city by a 
deep, wide fosse that an enemy in possession of either post 
could not occupy the other. These fortifications are of three 
distinct periods. The most ancient belongs to the Jewish, the 
next to the Roman, and the third to the time of the Crusaders. 
It was here that Raynald of Chatillon, when Lord of Kerak, 
feeling secure in the possession of this stronghold, defied the 
authority of Baldwin, King of Jerusalem, broke the treaty 
with Saladin, and by his rashness brought on the battle of 
Hattin, that resulted in the fall of Jerusalem and expulsion of 
the Crusaders from Palestine. 

The platform on which the city is built is about two miles in 
circumference, and has been surrounded by a high, strong wall 
resting on the natural rock, which was either scraped down or 
smoothly faced, rendering it insurmountable from without. 

These defenses are, in many places, in ruins, it being the pol- 
icy of the Turkish Government to weaken the position as much 
as possible. A year or two since a Turkish garrison was sent 
here, but the natives refused to tolerate it, and drove the sol- 
diers out of the citadel and back to Damascus. 

The two principal positions of strength are the castle and 
citadel. The former was built by Bybars, King of Egypt, about 
A. D. 1363. This fortress fronts to the north-west. The lower 
sections of the walls are twenty-seven feet thick, casemated, 
and the whole flanked by two lofty square towers with loop- 

1 2 Kings iii, 25. 



324 



BIBLE LANDS. 



holes for the archers. The other stronghold is the great citadel 
on the southern angle of the wall, an immense fortress, perhaps 
one thousand feet long, by half that distance wide, and from 
eight to ten stories high. Portions of this citadel belong to a 
very early period, but it was greatly strengthened and enlarged 
by Kaynald and Godfrey of Boulogne, in the twelfth century. 
Taken altogether, this is the grandest ruin in Ifoab, and the 
greatest monument the Crusaders have left of their energy and 
power. The walls are of incredible thickness, and of the most 
massive masonry — vaults, arches, galleries, rising one above 
another to a bewildering height, and pierced by innumerable 
loop-holes. In the center are the remains of a large Christian 
church, with vaulted ceiling, once frescoed. Some of the paint- 
ings may still be faintly traced — one, the head of some saint 
with a corona, is quite distinct. A secret gallery cut through the 
solid rock connected the citadel with the castle. Somewhere on 
this high altar, perhaps on the esplanade where our tents are 
pitched and the American flag is waving, thirty centuries ago one 
of the most tragic scenes in our world's history was witnessed. 
The kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom, made war against Moab. 
They laid waste the whole land, and drove the Moabites with 
their king into this strong position, laying siege to the citadel. 
The battle became too sore for the King of Moab, and as a for- 
lorn hope, with seven hundred men he undertook to cut his way 
out of his beleaguered castle, but in this he failed. Then, in 
his desperation, that he might fire his own army with increased 
ardor, and show to the enemy his determination to sacrifice 
every thing before surrendering, " he took his eldest son, who 
should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt- 
offering upon the wall," 1 probably in full view of both armies ; 

1 2 Kings iii, 27. 



FORTRESS OF MACHJERUS. 



325 



rousing among his soldiers such a feeling of indignation against 
Israel as to cause the allies to raise the siege at once, " and re- 
turn to their own land." 

The Kerak Arabs are among the most treacherous and dan- 
gerous tribes east of the Jordan. We were the first Americans 
to pass through, their territory, and on several occasions appre- 
hended the most serious results, but by paying liberal back- 
sheesh, with due prudence and firmness, managed to escape 
with our lives. 

But the place of greatest interest to the Christian in all this 
land, so remarkable for its wonders, is the lonely fortress and 
castle of MaehaeruSj mentioned by both Pliny and Strabo as 
among the strongest fortifications of the Jews, and where John 
the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. About midway be- 
tween Wady Zerka on the north and the River Arnon on the 
south, two of the deepest, wildest gorges that cut their way 
down to the Dead Sea from the east, on a bold spur of the 
mountain that projects westward from the main land, and ap- 
pears to overhang the sea four thousand feet below, are the 
ruins of this celebrated fortress. 

This spur is, perhaps, two miles long, sloping gradually to- 
ward the west, but is cut through about midway by two deep 
ravines, leaving in the center a high, almost perpendicular, con- 
ical hill, upon which stood the citadel and palace, the city cov- 
ering the upper and lower terraces east and west of the 
Acropolis. 

The place, naturally strong, was rendered almost invulnerable 
by numerous walls, ditches, and towers, the remains of which 
lie scattered over the ridge. Xo sooner had we pitched our 
tents, and unfurled the stars and stripes amid the ruins of the 
upper city, than we, in company with Dr. Eidgaway, hastened 



326 



BIBLE LANDS. 



off to the citadel, perhaps half a mile due west, ambitious to 
be the first Americans to enter this interesting ruin. Descend- 
ing by the old road to the causeway thrown across the valley 
on the south-east by the Romans, when the stronghold was 
taken by Bassus, we began the fatiguing ascent, and after much 
climbing, scrambling, and falling, the writer was the first to 
reach the summit, and look out upon the grand panorama in 
front ; for from this eminence the whole of the Dead Sea, with 
its desolate shores — Jerusalem, and all the hill country of 
Judea, Jericho, and the Yalley of the Jordan stretching far 
away to the north, can be distinctly seen. The fortress was 
circular, about one thousand feet in circumference, the walls 
of which can still be traced, and, as described by Jewish his- 
torians, were of great strength, and one hundred and sixty 
cubits high, which may be correct, as the upper section of the 
cone appeared to be artificial, similar to that at Herodium. 
The valleys which formed the natural defenses of this fortress 
are of great depth, so deep, says one historian, " that the eye 
could not reach their bottom," which is strictly true, for when 
standing among the ruins on the summit of this lofty cone, 
we found it impossible to see some of our party in the abyss 
below, so precipitous are the sides and so deep the valleys. 

"Within the citadel was the royal palace, which to us is the 
chief point of interest, as the place of John's imprisonment 
and martyrdom. The palace, according to Josephus, was of 
"towering height and vastly beautiful," the ascent to which, 
from the lower city, was by a secret staircase, which also com- 
municated with great cisterns cut in the sides of the mountain, 
one of which is ninety feet long, twenty wide, and thirty deep, 
hewn out of the solid rock, with steps leading down to it on 
the north. 



PRISON OF JOHN" THE BAPTIST. 



327 



Among the remains of the castle we found two vaulted 
dungeons, thirty feet long and twenty wide, near the wall on 
the south ; in one of which, more than probably, the forerun- 
ner of Christ was beheaded. It was with peculiar emotions we 
hunted among the rubbish of ages for some memento of the 
place, and when we found the mouth-piece of an old earthen 
water-jar, we could not but think that perhaps the parched lips 
of the martyr might once have touched that piece of potter's 
clay. Yery sad, indeed, to visit the scene of such painful events. 

Josephus gives a full description of Machserus and its event- 
ful history, 1 and the place in every particular answers the de- 
scription. It was built by Alexander, son of Hyrcanus I., but 
afterward enlarged and strengthened by Herod the Great, who, 
to protect his Arabian frontier, made it the most formidable 
fortress east of the Jordan. 

To this castle Herod Antipas brought Herodias, his brother 
Philip's wife, having first discarded his own wife, the daughter 
of Aretas, king of Arabia, with whom he had long happily 
lived. John at the same time was preaching and baptizing in 
the neighborhood. He was unsparing in his denunciations, 
and fearlessly told Herod " it was not lawful for him to have 
His brother's wife." This rebuke provoked the wrath of her 
with whom the king was living in adultery. At the instiga- 
tion of Herodias John was at once arrested and cast into the 
prison of Machaerus. And it was here that Herod, during the 
celebration of his birth-day, when surrounded by his court, to 
please the whims of this abandoned woman and to flatter the 
vanity of a dancing damsel, against his own better convictions, 
sent to the prison in the midnight hour and had this man of 
God beheaded. 

1 Jewish Wan, vii, 6. 



328 



BIBLE LAXDS. 



Herod and his infamous mistress have long since gone to 
their reward, their palace lies in ruins, and their scepter has 
departed forever ; but the voice they sought to hush in death 
may still be heard " crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the 
way of the Lord ;" and John the Baptist never preached more 
effectively than he does to-day from the prostrate walls and 
silent dungeons of Machserus. How strange that the scene of 
one of the most tragic events in Gospel history should so long 
remain unvisited by the Christian traveler ; and more especially 
when we consider that the name has never been changed, 
M'khaur, the present name, being the exact Arabic of the Greek 
Machgerus ! 




MACHiERUS. 



CHAPTER II 



HOT SPRINGS OF CALIEEHOE THE MOABITE STOITE. 

Zurka Main— Enchanting Yalley — Numerous Hot Springs — Delicious Bathing- 
Strange Legend — Fishing in Wady "Waleh — Dibon, Ancient Capital of Moab — 
Discovery of the Mesha Stone — Oldest Alphabetic Inscription — A lost Chapter 
of the Bible recovered. 

ONE of the most remarkable and romantic valleys in this 
land of wonders and romance is the Zurka Main, or Ca- 
lirrhoe, celebrated for its hot springs, mentioned by Pliny and 
Josephns, 1 and to which Herod the Great resorted during his 
last illness — a wild gorge directly north of, and about three thou- 
sand feet below, Machserus. Riding out the old Roman road 
along the ridge north of M'khaur, we soon began the descent 
of the mountain to a lower terrace, where we found traces of a 
pre-historic race in numerous dolmens, tumuli, and curious 
stone circles composed of large basalt blocks, the inclosures 
being from two to three hundred feet in diameter. Sweeping 
round the head of Wady Z'gara, from which a grand view of 
the sea and country beyond is had, we continued our descent 
by a perilous path over fields of lava and scoria, very much like 
Vesuvius. Next, we came to the limestone bed, and below 
this to a strata of pure rock-salt of unknown thickness, crop- 
ping out of the mountain, and corresponding exactly with the 
formation at Jebel Usdum. It was a bold piece of engineering 
to construct a chariot road down such a declivity, but the old 
Romans did it, and did it well, as in places where our path 

1 Antiquities, xvii, 6. 



330 



BIBLE LANDS. 



crossed the old track we could still see its solid bed and side 
walls. After two hours of riding and walking, stumbling and 
falling, we reached safely the bottom of this deep gorge, which, 
for natural beauty, is without an equal. The valley, generally, 
is not more than fifty or one hundred yards wide, walled in with 
almost perpendicular cliffs from five hundred to one thousand 
feet high, as if rent asunder by some earthquake, reminding 
one very much of the canons of California. The view through 
this chasm down to the Dead Sea is fearfully grand ; for wild- 
ness nothing can surpass it in Palestine. On these towering 
cliffs the eagle, undisturbed, builds her nest, and the ibex, un- 
pursued by man, leaps from crag to crag, while in the jungle 
at their base the wild boar and leopard still find a safe retreat. 

Being one thousand feet lower than the level of the ocean, 
with a mild temperature, and well supplied with water, vegeta- 
tion is prolific and the effect enchanting. Date-bearing palm- 
trees, with the juniper and tamarisk, grow in every nook and 
corner ; thickets of oleanders, in full bloom, border the streams ; 
dense cane-brakes wave their beautiful plumes in the air ; wild 
tulips and geraniums, of most delicate tints, perfume the whole 
valley ; mosses and maiden-hair ferns fringe the limpid fount- 
ains, and every rock appeared as set in a frame-work of flowers. 
The whole scene, gladdened by the voice of many waters, and 
the softer notes of the cuckoo and other warblers of the glen, 
makes this truly a lovely spot for sick and weary mortals. 

There are ten hot springs in the distance of, perhaps, three 
miles. They are all on the north side of the gorge, four to six 
miles from the sea, and burst forth at the junction . of the lime- 
stone with the red sandstone. Their temperature ranges from 
ninety to one hundred and forty-five degrees Fahrenheit. In 
testing one I found it impossible to hold my hand in the 




ZURKA MAIN CALIRRHOE. 



DELICIOUS BATHING. 



333 



water over half a second. It was rather amusing to see the 
horses jump when they stepped into these seething fountains. 
The water is strongly impregnated with sulphur, and where it 
issues from the mountain leaves a sulphurous deposit, in some 
instances acres in extent. This deposit increases from year to 
year, so that some of the springs, immediately below their 
source, are entirely covered to a depth of from fifty to one 
hundred feet, just as ice forms over a running brook in winter. 
In some places there are crevices in this crust from which the 
heated air and steam escape, affording a grand vapor bath. 
Where the water forms into cascades the rocks, shrubs, and 
even trees, are incrusted with the sulphur, giving them the 
appearance of beautiful coral formations. In one place, in par- 
ticular, at the foot of a water-fall, large palm-trees were petri- 
fied or turned into sulphur, and crumbled like chalk to the 
touch. A few steps, however, from the springs, vegetation 
flourishes as in tropical climes. 

Bathing here is as great a novelty as luxury. Almost any 
temperature of water can be enjoyed, as hot and cold streams fre- 
quently flow side by side in the same channel, for some distance, 
without commingling. On the one side, where the cold stream 
flows, all is life — fish abound, and flowers bloom along the 
shore ; on the other side, where the hot water runs, all is death, 
not a thing that hath life can be found in the stream or on its 
banks. In bathing, you can first plunge into a pool seemingly 
hot enough to scald you, then with a bound leap into another 
cold enough to chill you ; or you can lie with your head in the 
cold water, and your feet in the warm. And quite a novel and 
pleasing sensation is experienced by lying on your back in the 
middle of the stream with half your body in cold water, and 
the other half in hot ; one side almost parboiled, the other de- 



334 



BIBLE LANDS. 



lightfully cool. What a place for a sanitarium ! I know of 
nothing like it. 

On the platean directly north of these springs is the tradi- 
tional field where Elijah, on his retnrn from Horeb, met Elisha 
" plowing with twelve yoke of oxen." 1 There is nothing sur- 
prising in this statement. I have seen as many as twenty yoke 
of oxen plowing at the same time in the same field. 

Our party were the first Americans to visit these remarkable 
springs, which for more than two thousand years have been 
celebrated for their healing properties. This was the great re- 
sort of the Eomans in the days of the Empire, but we could 
find no trace of Herod's marble baths ; every thing being bur- 
ied beneath the sulphurous deposits of twenty centuries. The 
few Bedouins who come here to be cured of their infirmities- 
believe firmly in the virtue of the water, and have a tradition 
that these fountains flow from the lower regions, and are al- 
lowed to escape lest the unfortunate doomed should bathe in 
their healing waters and be restored to life again. 

Leaving these springs, and continuing up the valley to its- 
head, we rode over a rocky ridge into Wady Waleh, a branch 
of the Arnon, where we encamped for the night in a grove of 
flowering oleanders. An old Koman road once crossed the 
valley at this point on a bridge of five stone arches, now in 
ruins ; the paved road-bed may still be seen, and on some of the 
mile-stones can still be read the name of the Emperor Severus. 
We saw illustrated here how "the waters wear the stones." 
The bed of the stream is a soft limestone, and the waters have 
worn it into a thousand different channels, cavities, and pools,, 
of every fantastic form : some of them have the shape of bath- 
tubs, in one of which we took a refreshing swim ; others are 

1 1 Kings six, 19. 



7 





X w ^ »^ ^ 3^ 

4 ~=y*& y ^ £ ^ Y .3? q=L ^ 

. nJPH Y-/^°^ ^/^^n^^^5/^iy 5^-<^o.x ^ 

*\ 3?J.3 w ^>4r w Yfr>^ 
/✓© j \ £ 6o^=iy ^^.wjyjy 

THE MOABITE STONE. 




DISCOVEEY OF THE MOABITE STOKE. 



337 



larger, and full of fish, of which we caught enough for break- 
fast. The fish, not being acquainted with modern tactics, were 
easily taken with a pin-hook. The natives thought the fish 
very foolish for biting, and said, "They caught themselves, 
for if they didn't bite, they wouldn't be caught." 

Striking our tents at an early hour we soon gained the high, 
rich plateau immediately north of the Arnon, dotted with flocks 
and herds, and yellow with fields of wheat and barley, where 
Sihon, king of the Amorites, was slain when he gave battle to 
the Israelites after refusing them the privilege of passing 
through his territory. A ride of a few miles over this fertile 
plain — the grass in some places up to our horses' knees — brought 
us to the ruins of Dibon, the ancient capital of Moab, where 
the celebrated Mesha stone was found. 

Among all the discoveries of modern times none possess 
greater interest to the linguist, historian, and biblical scholar, 
than " The Moabite Stone." Apart from the light it sheds 
upon an obscure portion of Jewish history, it is of great value 
to the archaeologist as the oldest specimen of alphabetic writing 
extant — dating back at least to 890 B. C. The Assyrian inscrip- 
tions are older than the ]Moabite, but they are not a language 
of letters; the arrow-headed character being used to denote 
whole words. The hieroglyphics of Egypt are older, but they 
are symbolic writing, not alphabetic. Among the Egyptians a 
lamp signified life ; a jackal, cunning ; a waving line, running 
water ; so that the finding of this stone has helped greatly to 
settle the long-disputed question as to the origin of letters and 
the art of writing. It also shows clearly that the Semitic na- 
tions east of the Jordan were more civilized than is generally 
admitted ; that they practiced writing nearly a thousand years 

before Christ, if not much earlier ; that they had a complete 
22 



338 



BIBLE LA^DS. 



alphabet of their own language, and kept correct records of 
important events; that in writing, the same characters were 
used by all the Semitic nations ; and that the Phoenician and 
Hebrew alphabets are closely allied, if not identical, in their 
origin. It also illustrates the history of our own language, for 
the whole of the Greek alphabet is here found in its primitive 
state, not only similar to, but scarcely distinguishable from, the 
Phoenician; answering fully the objections that have been 
made to Psalm cxix, and other alphabetical Psalms ; and show- 
ing that the Greeks must have received their entire alphabet 
from the East, which is very likely, since it appears that Cad- 
mus signifies the Orient, and is not a proper name. And what 
is singular, we find on this stone many of the letters of our 
own alphabet, showing that the characters in use to-day are 
very similar to those used in the days of Moses. 

This is the first fragment recovered of Moabite literature,, 
and all that is extant except what is preserved in the Mosaic 
records. The finding of this stone is like the recovery of a 
lost chapter from the inspired volume, and, without doing \ io- 
lence to the text, might be added to the Second Book of Kings. 
The first chapter of that book opens with the declaration^ 
" Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab." 
The subject then changes, and nothing more is said of this re- 
volt till we come to the third chapter, when the kings of Israel, 
Judah, and Edom, go forth to suppress the rebellion. On this 
monument we have the particulars given us of this war, who 
the king of Moab was, where he lived, the cities he built, the 
god he worshiped, how he took Nebo, what he did with the 
prisoners, and finally, in his desperation, sacrificing his eldest 
son, and heir to his throne, on the esplanade of his citadel at 
Kerak, in sight of all Israel. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE STONE. 



339 



For near three thousand years this inscription had been lying 
among the rubbish of a ruined city. Its preservation was en- 
tirely owing to the quality of the stone upon which it was en- 
graved — hard, black basalt, requiring a diamond to cut it — and its 
discovery was purely accidental. The first European to see it 
was Eev. F. A. Kline, an English clergyman of Jerusalem, who 
was passing through Moab, and had his attention called to it by 
a friendly Arab in the summer of 1868. The value of the 
stone was not known at first, and for more than a year it re- 
mained where first found, on the surface of the ground, in a 
depression between two hills covered with ruins, in the north- 
west corner of Dibon. When discovered it was lying with the 
inscription uppermost, and in a perfect state of preservation ; 
but unfortunately, through a rivalry that sprang up among 
the Bedouins in reference to the backsheesh, the Ishmaelite, 
Saleem el Kari, who first found it, kindled a fire beneath the 
stone, and by throwing cold water upon it when heated, broke 
this invaluable monument of antiquity into ten thousand pieces. 
About seven tenths of the fragments were afterward recovered, 
and are now in the Louvre, at Paris. There were over one 
thousand neatly cut letters on the tablet arranged in thirty-four 
■lines. About seven hundred of these letters have been secured, 
which, with the " squeezes " taken before and after its destruc- 
tion, give a pretty correct idea of the record. 

The language is very expressive, and the sentences carefully 
punctuated. It was probably placed by the king in front of 
some temple to commemorate his victories ; and from the facts 
set forth, we learn that after Solomon's reign Moab again be- 
came an independent nation ; that it was known then as the 
land of Moab or Meab ; that Mesha was king, and Dibon its 
capital ; that they were oppressed forty years by the house of 



340 



BIBLE LANDS. 



Omri, father of Ahab and founder of Samaria ; that Jehovah 
was generally known among the nations as Israel's God, and 
Chemosh as the god of the Moabites. Mesha goes to war with 
Israel, and this monumental slab was erected to commemorate 
his deeds. 

We are indebted to that eminent archaeologist, Clermont-Gan- 
neau, for the most correct translation of this invaluable record. 
Other portions of the stone have more recently been recovered 
by M. Clermont-Ganneau, from whom we learn, in addition to 
the .above, that the name of Mesha's father was Chamos- 
Gad ; that he was a native of Dibon ; and among other exploits 
took Ar, or Rabbath-Moab, and slew Ariel, probably Benaiah, 
one of David's mighty men, who had slain two lion-like men 
of Moab. 1 

How strange that a chapter from the word of God, after ly- 
ing for nearly thirty centuries among the ruins of a pagan 
temple, should thus be found by a Christian missionary trav- 
eling through the land ! 

The Bible does not claim to narrate all the events of the past, 
only the most important, and such as relate to God's purposes 
in the redemption of man. So, really, we are no wiser relig- 
iously, by this discovery. Still, it is gratifying in this age of 
skepticism, when the authenticity of the Scriptures is often 
called into question, to find among the vestiges of a former re- 
mote civilization such a record of Jewish history, and to re- 
cover from King Mesha's own royal library, a lapidary volume 
fully corroborating the truth of revelation. 

1 2 Samuel xxiii, 20. 



CHAPTER III. 



MOUNT PISGAH. 

Its Identity Established — Wady Musa — The Outpourings of Pisgah — High Places 
of Baal — King's Highway — Moabite Images — Grand Outlook. 

THE dream of my life has at last been realized. From boy- 
hood I had been singing in my heart, 

" Could I but climb where Moses stood." 

That desire has just been gratified. My feet have stood on 
Pisgah, and with my natural vision I have looked beyond the 
Jordan, and viewed " the landscape o'er." 

Few places mentioned in the Bible have been more fre- 
quently discussed than the situation of Pisgah. Yet, down to 
the present, its precise locality had been undetermined. This 
was owing to the danger attending a thorough exploration of 
the country, from the hostility of the Bedouins to all foreigners, 
especially Christians. All these tribes are uncivilized and ra- 
pacious, and it would be madness to attempt to go through 
their territory without permission and proper escort. We had 
many adventures with these wild sons of Ishmael, on two 
occasions being compelled at midnight, Arab-like, 

"To fold our tents and steal away." 

We, however, accomplished our purpose : making safely the 
tour of Moab and Edom, and, at least to our own satisfaction, 
fixing many localities hitherto unknown — among them the 
Pisgah of Moses. 



342 



BIBLE LANDS. 



All who have investigated the subject will admit that this 
mountain must be in the immediate vicinity designated. To 
onr mind the arguments adduced are conclusive in fixing its 
locality on the highest summit of the Xebo range, known 
among the natives as Jebel Neby, or Mountain of the Prophet, 
a bold promontory about five miles west of Heshbon, where 
the mountain breaks of! abraptly, falling in rocky terraces 
down to the Salt Sea and plain of Shittini, four thousand feet 
below. 

In determining the position of this mountain we have to 
rely upon the scriptural account and natural topography of 
the country. The inspired record is sufficiently clear on the 
subject : " And Moses went up from the Plains of Moab unto 
the mountain of ]^\ebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against 
Jericho," etc. 1 Here are several conditions to be met in de- 
termining its locality. Pisgah must overlook the Dead Sea 
and Plains of Moab. There must be an easy ascent to its top 
from the valley below. It must stand opposite to or facing Jeri- 
cho ; must have two or more summits, with a ravine separating 
it from Bethpeor, and a field capable of cultivation on its top, 
with springs of water flowing from beneath it ; and. finally, it 
must command a view of the whole of "Western Palestine, 
and trans- Jordanic Palestine, from Dan to Zoar. Now 3 ah 
these conditions are met in the locality we have given. 

Xebo is the name of the mountain — a spur of the " Abarim" 
range. This mountain has several summits, which answer to 
the "high places of Baal,'' to which Balak brought Baalam. 
Pisgah, which signifies the height, we very properly apply to 
the highest of these summits, and the only one from which the 
" utmost sea," and other points mentioned in the narrative, can 

1 Deuteronomy xxxiv, 2. 



LOCALITY OF PISGAH. 



343 



be seen. Ruins, as of an old altar, are found upon tins hill ; 
we, however, attach but little importance to this circumstance, 
as the remains of altars and temples are found on all the " high 
places of Moab." 

There can be no doubt as to the place where the Israelites 
were encamped at the time of their leader's death. It is defi- 
nitely given, " On the Plains of Moab, by Jordan, near Jericho." 1 
This alone should settle the position of Pisgah ; as Moses locates 
it directly east of the Jordan, overlooking the Plains of Moab, 
and facing Jericho, which is the exact position of the mountain 
for which we contend. By referring to the interview between 
Balak and Balaam, you will find that the king of Moab 
brought the Assyrian prophet to the " field of Zophim, to the 
top of Pisgah ; " 2 which literally means to the cultivated field 
on the " top of Pisgah," and very truthfully applies to this 
mountain. As we rode over the undulating ridge to the east 
it looked like a beautiful meadow, with here and there cultivated 
patches — the wheat in some places up to our saddle-skirts, and 
even on the top and down the slopes of the mountain we found 
fig and juniper-trees growing ; and in one place discovered an 
old wine-press ten feet by eight cut in the solid rock, two feet 
■deep, showing that there must have been at one time vineyards 
here. 

Moses, in assigning to the children of Reuben their portion 
of the territory, names, among other places, Dibon, Heshbon, 
and " Ashdoth-Pisgah " — the outpourings or " springs of Pis. 
gah," as rendered in our translation. 3 Here we have natural 
landmarks by which Pisgah may be determined to a certainty ; 
it being the highest peak, opposite and nearest Jericho, from 
beneath which the fountains pour. 

1 Numbers xxxi, 12. 2 Numbers xxiii, 14. 3 Deuteronomy iv, 49. 



344 



BIBLE LANDS. 



Sweeping round the base of this mountain on the east and 
north is a deep ravine, extending down to the Jordan, up 
which Moses could easily have ascended from the plain to the 
top ; and, what is remarkable, this valley is still called by the 
Arabs AYady Musa — the Valley of Moses. Near the head of 
this ravine, bursting from beneath the highest summit, are a 
number of living springs of clear, pure, cool water, forming 




SPRINGS OF MOSES. 



quite a brook, that leaps in beautiful cascades down the mount- 
ain side. These springs are known as Ayun Musa — Springs of 
Moses — and correspond exactly with the outpourings of Pisgah. 
In fact, one of the springs literally pours from a natural tunnel 
in the limestone rock, and, after flowing a short distance along 
the projecting cliff, at one bound leaps fully fifty feet into the 
gorge below. These springs are an argument in favor of this 



WADY MUSA AND BETH-PEOR. 



345 



locality, which will not apply to any other mountain east of 
the Jordan. 

After the Lord showed his servant " the land which he sware 
unto Abraham," it is recorded that Moses died, and was 
"buried in a valley over against Beth-peor." Now, directly 
east of this mountain, across Wady Musa, is another eminence, 
with the tomb of some sheik and ruins upon it, which in every 
respect answers to Beth-peor ; that is, the House of Peor, or 
place where Baal-Peor, the god of the Moabites, was worshiped. 
This deity corresponds with the Roman Priapus, and is iden- 




MOABITE IMAGES FOUND NEAR PISGAH. 



tical with Chemosh, the national god of the Moabites, whose 
name is frequently mentioned on the celebrated Moabite stone, 
found at Dibon, only a few miles south of this. 

The religious rites attending the worship of Baal-Peor were 
of the most indecent character, as the name indicates, and as 
may be seen from the idols and coins recently found in Moab ; 
and it is a singular coincidence that within a few years hun- 
dreds of' obscene idols of this god, made chiefly of terra-cotta, 
have been found in this vicinity, and are now on exhibition in 
the Berlin museum. When the children of Israel entered the 



346 



BIBLE LAJNDS. 



country and pitched their tents " before Xebo," they became 
enamored with the daughters of Moab, and joined in the wor- 
ship of this deity, thns provoking the anger of the Lord, who 
sent a plague upon them, and destroyed twenty-four thousand 
of the people for their apostasy. The identity of this place 
we regard as additional proof in support of our position. 

The valley over against Beth-peor is, beyond doubt, TVady 
Musa, or the deep ravine between Pisgah and Beth-peor, which 
leads down to the Plains of Moab, and up which [Moses made 
the ascent of Pisgah, and the same down which the children of 
Israel may have passed. Ayun Musa, or the Springs of Moses, 
referred to above, are also in this ravine, pouring down from 
over a shelving rock their limpid waters, causing the whole 
valley to rejoice. Here, it is said, the servant of God rested 
on his weary way up the mountain. Poor pilgrim ! another 
halt, and thou shalt reach thy journey's end ! Slake thy thirst 
for the last time ; for from the peak that towers above thy 
head thy pure, meek spirit shall return to God. There are 
many caves and rock-tombs in the side of Pisgah facing Beth- 
peor ; and if the great prophet was not translated, no doubt 
somewhere in this lovely valley, among the blooming lilies and 
babbling waterfalls, forever concealed from mortal eyes by the 
wild flowers and ferns that hang in drapery rich from every 
cliff, is the grave of Moses — God's faithful servant, and earth's 
greatest lawgiver. 

Having carefully examined all the mountains from the Jab- 
bok to the Arnon, we are fully persuaded this is the only one 
that can fulfill all the conditions in the scriptural account — 
Mount Gilead being too far north, and Attains entirely too far 
south. Then, neither of these mountains are opposite Jericho ; 
there never could have been a cultivated field on their rocky 



SPKINGS OF PISGAH. 



347 



summits ; they do not overlook the Plains of Moab, and the 
outlook from their tops is too circumscribed. 

The Pisgah we contend for meets all these conditions ; the 
scriptural topography harmonizing exactly with the actual 
facts. ¥e have here the Nebo range, with "the high places 
of Baal " — the mountain with two summits facing Jericho, with 
the springs gushing from beneath it ; Beth-peor on the east, 
with "Wady Musa sloping gently down to the plain ; and on 
the top, traces of a cultivated field, from which can be had the 
most extensive view in all the land. This site agrees with both 
Jerome and Eusebius, who locate Pisgah " six miles to the west 
of Heshbon " — the exact distance by the old road ; and also 
with Drs. Strong and Pidgaway, with whom the writer first 
visited this mountain ; and in all essentials, with Prof. Paine, 
who, however, contends for the more westerly peak. 

In examining this locality, much to our surprise we found, 
on a second projection of Eebo, about half a mile west of Pis- 
gah, extensive ruins of a city not marked on any map. In some 
places the walls were standing twenty feet high ; many prostrate 
columns were lying about, as if thrown down by an earthquake ; 
we also found large cisterns, rock-hewn tombs, and massive 
foundations as of a strongly fortified place, in all probability 
the remains of the city of Nebo. The ruins indicated a remote 
antiquity, as there was no trace of Grecian or Roman archi- 
tecture among them. JSTebo is mentioned among the Cities 
rebuilt by the tribe of Peuben, and was built, doubtless, on 
this second knoll for defensive purposes. Eusebius refers 
to it, and locates it in this neighborhood. Isaiah classifies 
it with Heshbon, Dibon, and Baal-Meon, all in this vicinity ; 
and Jeremiah, in denouncing the judgments of God upon 
Moab, exclaims, "Woe unto Nebo, for it is spoiled — judg 



348 



BIBLE LANDS. 



ment is come upon Dibon and Nebo — Moab shall howl over 
Nebo." 

We also found the track of an old paved road in good pres- 
ervation, with the side walls standing, leading from this city 
in the direction of Aroer, which undoubtedly is the " King's 
Highway," by which the Israelites entered Canaan! From 
the Mosaic record it appears they came by this highway to the 
"top of Pisgah," pitching their tents "in the mountains of 
Abarim, before Nebo," 1 that is, in the valley or table-land, " over 
against Beth-peor." 2 The discovery of this city and road we 
consider, apart from the interest they possess, an additional ar- 
gument in support of the identity of Pisgah, establishing beyond 
controversy its site, leaving no longer a doubt as to the verity of 
the spot where " Moses, the servant of the Lord," closed his 
eyes on earth. 3 

The view from the top of this mountain is sublimely grand. 
Nothing on earth can equal it in sacred and historic interest. I 
shall never forget the rapture of that vision. At our feet the 
Sea of Death rolled its sullen waves over the once fertile Plain 
of Siddim. To the north, the winding course of the Jordan 
could be traced to its fountain head, with Hermon, standing like 
an old sentinel with frosty locks, guarding the source of " the 
river of God." To the west, the mountains of Western Palestine, 
dotted with cities and villages, were spread out like a panorama 
before us. Far away to the south was Mount Hor, throwing 
her misty veil over the grave of Aaron on its highest summit. 
Far away to the north, " goodly Lebanon," still clothed in her 
wintry robes. On our left, Hebron loomed up in the distance, 
as if proud of her sacred charge — the tomb of the patriarchs. 
On our right, tinged with a bluish haze, were the Galilean hills, 

1 Numbers xxxiii, 47. 2 Deuteronomy iii, 29. 3 Deuteronomy xxxiv, 5. 



OUTLOOK FKOM PISGAH. 



349 



with Nazareth nestling on their bosom. Directly in front of us 
was the " city of palm-trees ;" and just back of it, the mountain 
of Christ's temptation, and the brook Cherith, where Elijah was 
fed by the ravens ; and beyond, Herodium, the mausoleum of 
that monster — Herod the Great. And still beyond, near the 
summit of the Judean mountains, Bethlehem, to the Christian 
the most sacred spot on earth ; and a little to the north, Jeru- 
salem, so beautiful for situation, and hallowed in its associations ; 
and close by, Olivet, beaming in the sunlight like the gate-way 
to glory ; and just beyond, 'Nebj Samwel, where Israel's last 
judge lived, died, and awaits the resurrection. Still farther 
north could be seen Gerizim and Ebal, overlooking the well of 
Jacob and the tomb of Joseph ; and beyond, Carmel, stretching 
away to the " utmost sea," the Mediterranean Sea. Then came 
the depression of the Plain of Esdraelon, guarded by Tabor and 
Gilboa ; scenes of some of the most stirring events in sacred 
history. The Mount of Beatitudes was only partly seen, V.t 
•east of the Jordan, Mizpah-Gilead, where Jacob and Laban last 
parted, was in full view, with the tomb of Hosea on its summit. 
And eastward, as far as the Hauran and Mountains of Arabia, 
rolled the Belka, the beautiful Belka — one vast fertile plain, 
fragrant with flowers, and covered with the flocks, herds, and 
black tents of the Bedouins, who now roam at will over the 
ruins of those giant cities that mark the march of civilization, 
-and clearly indicate that 

" Westward the Star of Empire takes its way." 

Words, however, can never describe the grand outlook from 
this lofty eminence. Only such as have enjoyed the prospect 
can fully appreciate it. 



CHAPTEK IV. 



LAND OF GILEAD. 

Mount Gilead — Name Applied to all Eastern Palestine — Home of Elijah — Jepnt&ab 
— Ramoth-Gilead — Remarkable Ruins — Arak el Emir — Jerash — Pella — Ga- 
dara — Balm of Gilead. 

THE mountainous district lying north of Moab, and extend- 
ing along the Jordan like a massive wall from its mouth to 
the lower spurs of Hermon, was known as Gilead, deriving its 
name from Mount Gilead, 1 or Mizpah Galeed, where Jacob and 
Laban had their last interview, and set up their memorial stones 
as a witness between them. This country was early conquered 
and absorbed by Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king 
of Bashan. 2 It afterward belonged to Gad, and though the 
name survived, and sometimes applied to the whole of Eastern 
Palestine, 3 the aboriginal inhabitants became extinct. 

The Adwan tribe of Bedouins, of which Ali Diab is sheik, 
now hold the country, and have generally been friendly to 
Americans. We have visited their camp frequently, and al- 
ways received a hearty welcome. The sheik's tent can be 
easily distinguished from the rest by the number of lances 
stuck in the ground around it, with shafts from twelve to four- 
teen feet long, and often ornamented with tufts of black or 
white ostrich feathers near the blade. These plumes are their 
battle-flags, and the warriors who carry the black feathers on 
their spears are the invincibles, who never retreat, surrender, 
or show mercy ; but those with white plumes will both grant 

1 Genesis xxxi, 25-49. 2 Joshua xii, 1-5. 3 Deuteronomy hi, 12. 



BEDOUIN HOSPITALITY. 



351 



favors and ask for quarters. Hence the familiar saying, " Show 
the white feather." Their entertainments are usually given in 
the sheik's tent, without any great display or ceremony, the 
guests sitting on mats or rugs spread on the ground, and all eat- 
ing out of the same large dish. Such articles as knives, forks, 




ALI DIAB, SHEIK OF THE ADWASS. 



spoons, and plates, are unknown among them. If you are a per- 
son of distinction, and the sheik desires to show you great re- 
spect, he will seat you on his left, then dip his hand into the 
mess of pottage first, and, taking out a piece of the kid or 



352 



BIBLE LANDS. 



handful of lentiles, thrust it into your month, almost choking 
yon ; bnt woe betide the guest who refuses this special mark of 
attention. All visitors are required to conform to these usages. 
As " when in Koine we clo as the Eomans do," so, on the same 
principle, when in Turkey we must do as the Turkeys do, that 
is, gobble every thing down. After the repast the dogs lick the 
platter, when it is set aside all ready for the next meal, no 
washing of dishes being required. Liberal backsheesh is gen- 
erally expected in return for their hospitality. 




ARABS EATING, 



Among so many mountains it is difficult at this late date to 
determine the particular eminence where Laban overtook Jacob, 
and that gave its name to this whole province. It, however, is 
generally conceded to Jebel JiPacl, the Arabic of Mount G-ilead, 
a peak that rises to the height of four thousand seven hundred 
and sixty feet above the sea, and not only retains the name, but 
meets all the conditions, of the text, This mountain is also 
known as Jebel Osha, from the reputed tomb of the Prophet 
Hosea being on its summit ; and is supposed to be Mizpah-Gil- 
ead, where Jephthah made the rash vow which cost the life of 



MOUNT GILEAD. 



353 



his only child, whose untimely death the maidens of the land 
still lament, by the annual observance of a day of mourning on 
this lofty mountain. David, when driven from his kingdom 
by the wrathful Saul, found here an asylum for himself and 
parents. Elijah was a native of Gilead, and from the plain 
below, near the Jordan, mounted the heavens in his chariot of 
fire. As we rode over the same plain, a whirlwind swept across 
our path, and we could almost fancy we saw the fiery prophet 
ascend the skies. 

Sweeping round the base of this mountain on the north is 
the river Jabbok and the ford where Jacob spent the night 
he prevailed with God ; and only half an hour's ride from here 
is Pamoth Gilead, so celebrated in Jewish history as one of the 
cities of refuge, where Ahab received his mortal wound, and 
the impetuous Jehu was anointed king of Israel. 

The view from this eminence is magnificent ; in some respects 
even finer than from Isebo, taking in the entire Jordan Yalley 
and all Western Palestine from Lebanon on the north to the 
Dead Sea on the south. This was the landscape on which 
Abraham first gazed as he journeyed over this same mountain 
-on his way to the Promised Land. Some have contended that 
this Mount is the Pisgah of Moses, but no one who has ever 
visited the two mountains will entertain such an idea for a 
moment. Except in the extensive outlook, Jebel Jil'ad does 
not fulfill a single condition of the true Pisgah ; then, it is at 
least twenty miles too far north. On the summit of this 
mountain the naked rock crops out, forming a natural watch- 
tower from which a beacon light could be seen half over 
Palestine. Excavated in this rock are some curious tombs and 
■cisterns, with steps leading down to them, and under the ledge 

that projects toward the west three large caves, forty feet 
23 



354 



BIBLE LANDS. 



square, one with seats cut in the rock round three sides, with a 
recess facing the entrance, as if designed for a place of worship 
or council chamber. As we entered one of these caves the 
largest eagle I ever saw flew out, an auspicious omen, the 
Arabs say. This was Israel's great rendezvous. Here they 
held their councils of war, and probably in these caverns 
Jephthah and his desperadoes laid their plans for the recon- 
quest of the country from the Amorites. 

This whole land at one time must have been thickly pop- 
ulated and highly civilized. Every few miles you come upon 
the remains of cities, some of them dating back to the days of 
the Rephaim. The great number of these ruins prove a dense 
population ; and the magnitude and elegance of their works, 
their numerous reservoirs and aqueducts, their well-paved 
roads and rock-hewn tombs, their wine and oil presses, and 
the inscriptions in some instances found upon their monuments^ 
evince a high degree of civilization. 

The Castle of Hyrcanus, about fifteen miles south of Mount 
Gilead, is one of the most remarkable ruins in Perasa. It was 
built by Hyrcanus I., an Asmonean prince, one hundred and 
ninety years before Christ, on a terrace of the mountain twenty- 
five hundred feet above the Jordan, a secure position, near the 
source of a mountain stream, abounding with fish, and shaded 
with large trees. On a knoll in the center of this beautiful 
plateau, surrounded by a strong wall and deep fosse, stood the 
castle or fortress. The only entrance to it was by a massive 
gate-way of large beveled stones, well dressed, with a beading 
running up the angles. The frieze of this portal, was an enor- 
mous stone, in the Ionic style, and very beautiful. There was 
a colonnade in front of the castle composed of plain and fluted 
columns with Ionic and Egyptian capitals — rather a strange 



CASTLE OF HYKCANUS. 355 

medlej. The building itself was constructed of great stone 
slabs, hard as marble, from fifteen to twenty feet long, by ten 
feet wide and two feet thick, just the thickness of the wall. 
These slabs stood on their edge, and were held together by 
knobs about eight inches square, cut on the upper edge of the 
lower stones and fitting snugly in corresponding sockets in the 




CASTLE OF HYRCANUS. 



next course above, and so on to the topmost course. No mor- 
tar or iron damps were used. Above the second course, 
or twenty feet from the foundation, ran a Doric belt-course, 
highly ornamented, and above this a frieze twelve feet hi^h, 
formed of colossal sculptured slabs, with enormous lions in alto 



356 



BIBLE LANDS. 



relievo ; and above this, still another entablature and frieze in 
the Ionic style. Most of this once beautiful edifice is now in 
ruins — fragments of broken columns and cornices strew the 
ground ; but the foundations and several courses of the walls, 
and a few of the sculptured slabs, are yet in situ, having 
resisted the storms and earthquakes of more than two thousand 
years. The account of this palace, as given by Josephus, 1 is 
very correct, to which the reader is referred for details. 




ARAK EL EMIR. 



Ten minutes' walk from the castle is Arak el Emir, the rock 
dwelling and stables of the prince, a perfect labyrinth of dark 
passages and haunted cells. The road from the fortress to this 
rock castle is clearly defined by two rows of squared perforated 
stones, standing a few feet apart, as if for some kind of a signal 

1 Antiquities, xii, 4. 



ROCK-HEWN TOMBS. 



357 



or railing. This unique castle consists of numerous halls, 
chambers, and stables cut in the solid rock, and rising tier 
above tier in the face of a bold cliff, almost inaccessible. 

The first hall you enter is a large square room with vaulted 
ceiling and cornice, perhaps a council chamber or banqueting 
hall. On the right of the entrance is a mutilated inscription in 
old Samaritan characters. Still higher up we reach by a very 
steep and difficult path a narrow passage or rent in the rock, 
which leads to a long range of cells for all purposes — some for 
feasting and sleeping ; others for attendants and guards ; in 
some instances several cells communicating. One apartment 
designed for a stable, was large enough for at least a hun- 
dred horses; the feeding and watering troughs, and holes for 
fastening the halters, all hewn out of the native rock. 

The approach to all these caves is difficult, and to some danger- 
ous, it being necessary in places to creep along a narrow ledge on 
your hands and feet. The doorways generally are so small that 
not more than one person can enter at a time. The only en- 
trance to one suite of apartments was by a small hole through 
the floor of the cell above, concealed by a stone slab, rendering 
it impossible for an enemy to force an entrance, as the trap- 
. door would only admit one man at a time, and he would have 
to drop himself from the ceiling to the floor, at least fifteen 
feet, on barbed pikes. There is a deep cistern connected with 
these apartments, and in all probability it was here that Hyr- 
canus ended his unhappy life. When he built this strong- 
hold and cut out these numerous hiding-places in the cliffs of 
the mountain, he fancied himself secure ; but being naturally 
timid and suspicious was kept by his enemies in a constant 
state of alarm, and after seven miserable years, committed 
suicide in one of these cells, when Antiochus Epiphanes laid 



358 



BIBLE LANDS. 



siege to the castle and fortress. One feels very sad wandering 
through these dark passages and tomb-like cells, once the seat 
of royalty, now the habitation of wild beasts and the wilder 
children of the desert. Alexander, who built the fortress of 
Machserus, was the son of this Hyrcanus. 

Crossing the Jabbok at Jacob's ford, we began the ascent of 
the Mountains of Ajlun, covered with forests of oak, fir, and 
terebinth. It was somewhere in these forests that the rebellions 




OAK OF BASHAN. 



Absalom came to his ignoble death. The stiff, shaggy branches 
of the oak hang very low, and unless a person is careful he is 
likely to meet with the same mishap that befell this young 
man. Eiding carelessly under one of these trees I was caught 
by the low boughs round the neck, and would have, been lifted 
from the saddle and left dangling in the air had my horse not 
suddenly stopped. 

Two hours of climbing over hills and rocks, through jungles 



JERASH. 



8G1 



and park-like forests, brought us to an open country of low, 
rounded ridges and verdant valleys, running north and south, 
and covered with the remains of a once magnificent city known 
among the natives as Gerasa or Jerash. In some respects, these 
ruins are more imposing and extensive than any others in 
Syria ; not so colossal as those at Baalbec, but equally classical 
and more vast. It appears to have been a city of palaces, tem- 
ples, and other public edifices ; and one is perplexed to know 
where the people came from to fill these theaters and numer- 
ous temples. 

Though most of the city is a heap of ruins, much of its 
ancient grandeur remains. Colonnades fully a mile in length, 
crossing each other at right angles, may still be traced. Tri- 
umphal arches of rich design, spanning the streets at different 
points, may still be seen. One of several bridges over the val- 
ley and stream which ran through the midst of the city, may 
still be crossed. Grand gate-ways, towers, theaters, baths, and 
other public buildings, some almost entire, are still standing. 
Of the Forum alone, fifty-seven columns, with their entabla- 
ture, remain erect, and throughout the city not less than five 
times that number are still in situ, with thousands of others 
lying prostrate and broken at their base. The Temple of the 
Sun, of which only eleven columns of the portico remain, must 
have been a gem of Grecian art. Many inscriptions may still 
be seen on pedestal, column, and architrave, but nothing earlier 
than the Greek and Roman period, though there is every rea- 
son for believing that this city existed long before that period. 
The first mention made of Jerash in history is by Josephus, 
who gives an account of the taking of the place by Alexander 
Janneus, B. C. S5, 1 showing that it must have existed prior to 

1 Jewish Wars, i, 4, 8. 



362 



BIBLE LANDS. 



that date. And from the fact that Mahanaim, where Jacob 
met the angels, 1 about this time mysteriously disappears from 
history, and Jerash as suddenly springs into notice, this city 
is now generally believed to be the place where the Lord ap- 
peared to Jacob, and to which David fled for protection from 
Absalom, and mourned so piteously over his son's death. It is 
also supposed that the beautiful Twenty-third Psalm was written 
here. 2 The valley of the Jabbok, through which David must 
have fled, with his enemies lurking behind every rock, would 
represent forcibly " the Valley of the Shadow of Death," and 
the shepherds watching their flocks would naturally suggest the 
Lord's constant care for his people. ~Not a soul is now living 
on the site of this once opulent city. The place is entirely 
deserted. With some difficulty we clambered up into the room 
over the southern gate — a very antique and curious ruin, with 
foliage round the bases of the columns — where it is supposed 
David received the first news of his son's death; and when 
there, we could almost fancy we heard that stricken father 
exclaiming in all the anguish of his soul, " my son Absalom, 
my son, my son Absalom ! would Gcd I had died for thee, O 
Absalom, my son, my son ! " 3 

Twenty miles north-west of Jerash, on a terrace of the 
mountain overlooking, and about a thousand feet above, the 
Jordan Valley, a few standing columns near the foundations of 
some old buildings, and some rock-hewn tombs in the side of 
the mountain near the remains of a temple or church, mark 
the site of ancient Pella, which possesses no interest to the 
general reader except as the city of refuge for the Christians 
during the siege of Jerusalem by Titus. 

1 Genesis xxxii, 1. 2 See Sermon by Rev. Stopford Brooke 

3 2 Samuel xviii, 33. 



GADARA. 



363 



Gadara, the most northern city of Gilead, was situated on a 
north-western spur of the mountains just south of the Sea of 
Galilee, where the river Hieromax empties into the Jordan, and 
on the highway between Jerusalem and Damascus, along which 
the Israelites probably traveled when taken captives to Baby- 
lon. As at Jerash, a colonnade street ran through the city, the 
columns of which are all lying among the rubbish of ages, but 




RUINS OF GADARA. 



the paved road-bed, with the ruts worn by chariot wheels, may 
still be distinctly seen. The remains of extensive fortifications, 
two theaters, and what appears to have been the Forum, are easily 
traced out ; also the ruins of the Cathedral of Gadara. North- 
east of the city are many rock-cut tombs similar to those about 
Jerusalem, some quite large, with stone doors still swinging on 



364 



BIBLE LANDS. 



their stone hinges. We found several of these tombs occupied 
bj a low, desperate class of natives, recalling the visit of Christ 
to this neighborhood, and the healing of the demoniac who 
came ont of the tombs, and met Jesns as he landed from the 
ship. 1 This miracle, it will be observed, was not wrought at 
Gadara, but " in the country of the Gadarenes," of which Gad- 
ara was the capital, or, according to Strabo, " in the territory 
of Gadara," which extended to the Sea of Galilee. 

This was one of the cities of the Decapolis, and at one time 
the capital of Pergea. It was first taken by Antiochus the 
Great B. C. 218, afterward rebuilt by Pompey, and again 
captured and destroyed by Vespasian, and all its inhabitants- 
put to the sword. Again it was rebuilt, and became the seat 
of an episcopal see, but never recovered from its conquest by 
the Mohammedans ; and all that remains of this once opulent 
city is a confused heap of ruins. 

The old stone bridge over the Jordan, and the only one over 
that river now passable, and the same very likely by which 
Saul crossed on his way to Damascus, is a little south-west of 
this and in tolerable preservation. 

Among the rare plants indigenous to this country is the cele- 
brated shrub or tree from which the balm of Gilead was ex- 
tracted, once the great specific for all diseases peculiar to the 
East. It is an aromatic tree with long slender twigs thickly 
covered with sharp thorns, still found growing about Jericho, 
and along the Jordan in Gilead, commonly known as the 
Arabian Nubk, or Spina Christa, and is probably the tree 
from which the Saviour's crown of thorns was woven. And 
may not Jeremiah have referred to the crowning of our Lord 
with thorns, and to the blood which flowed from the peerless- 

1 Mark v, 1-21. 



BALM OF GILEAD. 



365 



brow of Christ, when he, in the bitterness of his son], inquired, 
" Is there no balm in Gilead ? " 1 

This most precious gum was generally obtained by making 
an incision in the bark of the shrub ; it also oozed from the 
leaves, and hung in drops like honey from the branches. The 
tree, which originally was only found in Palestine, was trans- 
planted to Egypt by Cleopatra, to whom the groves near Jeri- 
cho were presented by Marc Antony. The plant was after- 
ward taken to Arabia and grown in the vicinity of Mecca, 
whence the balsam is now brought to Europe and America, not 
as balm from Gilead, but balsam from Mecca. 

The gardens around Heliopolis and the Fountain of the Sun, 
in Egypt, no longer produce this rare specific for suffering mor- 
tals, and it has long since ceased to be an article of export from 
Gilead ; but the more precious balm it typified is still offered 
" without money and without price " to a dying world. 

1 Jeremiah viii, 22. 



CHAPTER V. 



STONE CITIES OF BASHAN. 

Giant Tribes of Men — Land of the Giants — Present Population — Patriarchal Char- 
acter — Deserted Cities — Adraha — Bozrah — Salcah. 

THESE are the ruins described by Mr. Porter as the Giant 
Cities of Bashan ; but whether there ever was a race of 
men much larger than the present remains to be proven. At 
a very early period, when the mode of living was more simple, 
and the habits of the people more hardy, certain tribes, under 
favorable circumstances, may have attained an unusual height 
and extraordinary strength ; still, from the statements of the 
most ancient historians, from the human remains found in the 
oldest tombs, and from the dimensions of their dwellings and 
the size of their armor, it does not appear that the early in- 
habitants of the world differed materially from the present race. 
True, the Bible makes mention of the fact, that " there were- 
giants in the earth in those days ; " 1 but we are only to under- 
stand from this that they were wicked, ferocious men ; men of 
violence and blood ; men of strong animal passions, who op- 
pressed and plundered the weak and defenseless. The Hebrew 
word nepMUm, which is rendered giant, literally signifies- 
earth-born or fallen, men of depravity, strong, bull-necked, mus- 
cular men, of which " the earth was full " after the fall ; but it 
nowhere represents them of great size, such as the ,term giant 
in modern parlance implies. 

The Rephaims, or first settlers of Bashan, appear to have been. 

1 Genesis vi, 4. 



9 



GIANT RACES. 



367 



of this character, of whom Og, their giant king, only remained 
in the days of Moses. That there were men of gigantic pro- 
portions in every age of the world none will deny, as we occa- 
sionally meet with them in our own day ; and it would seem 
that in primitive times, when armies fought hand to hand, 
and much depended on great physical strength, these semi- 
civilized nations selected the largest men for their leaders. 
Such was Og, king of Bashan, whose iron bedstead was nine 
cubits long; 1 Saul, first king of Israel, who stood head and 
shoulders above his brethren ; Goliath of Gath, whose height 
was " six cubits and a span," nine feet and a fraction ; 2 Porus- 
the Indian king, who was five cubits in height, and many others 
we might name. These, however, were exceptions, and only 
prove that the soldiers composing the armies they led to battle 
were no larger than ordinary men. 

The " land of Bashan " extended from the " border of Gilead " 
on the south, to Mount Hermon on the north ; and from the- 
Jordan Valley on the west to Salcah on the east, 3 including 
that portion of Palestine east of the Jordan, called " the land 
of the giants," which fell to the lot of the half tribe of 
Manasseh. 4 

■ As the name signifies, it was a fat and fruitful country, a. 
high plateau of rich pasture-land, densely populated, and pro- 
verbial for its exuberant fertility, ever-green forests, and su- 
perior breed of cattle. " The oaks of Bashan " are classed by 
the inspired writers with the cedars of Lebanon. Her " rams, 
lambs, and goats," are alluded to as superior to all other fallings, ^ 
and the " bulls of Bashan" have always been celebrated for 

1 Deuteronomy iii, 11. s 1 Samuel xvii, 4. 

8 Deuteronomy iii, 3-14; Joshua xii, 3-5. 4 Deuteronomy iii, 13. 
* Ezekiel xxxix, IS. 



368 



BIBLE LANDS. 



their great strength, and are supposed to be the behemoth 
mentioned by Job. 

This country is first noticed in connection with the invasion 
of Chedorlaomer and his confederates, who " smote the Rephaims 
in Ashtaroth Karnaim," 1 the royal city " of Og, king of Bashan, 
who was of the remnant of the giants, that dwelt at Ash- 
taroth." 2 The land was anciently divided into three provinces : 
Gaulanitis, on the west ; Argob or Trachonitis, to the north ; 
and Auranitis or Batansea, on the east. It is now generally 
known as the Hauran, the land of mountains and of free- 
dom, so called from Jebel Hauran, a volcanic mountain that 
rises from the great plain of Moab, six thousand four hundred 
feet above the sea. "When the Israelites invaded Canaan, they 
" went up by the way of Bashan," probably by the Haj route 
east of the Salt Sea, now traveled by the pilgrims to Mecca, 
and after conquering the nations east of the Jordan, crossed 
over into "Western Palestine. 

The present occupants of this country are chiefly the wild, 
nomadic children of the desert. Most of these Bedouin tribes 
are lawless, hereditary robbers, and have always lived by plunder- 
ing all who came within their reach. Time has neither changed 
their character nor improved their condition. You will find 
them to-day leading the same predatory life they did a thou- 
sand years ago. They excuse themselves for their robberies by 
the treatment received by their father, Ishmael, who, being 
turned out upon the world without patrimony, was allowed to 
take all he could find, and collect tribute from all travelers 
passing through his dominions. 

There are, however, a few tribes who pride themselves on 
being the descendants of the Patriarchs — are given to hospi- 

1 Genesis xiv, 5. 2 Joshua xii, 4. 



BEDOUIN HOSPITALITY. 



369 



tality, and really are very patriarchal in their manners. They 
treat all travelers as guests, and often press you to accept 
their entertainment, and appear offended if you decline. They 
have coffee and milk always on hand, and a kid or fatted calf 
always ready to be served, with provender in abundance for 
your horses or camels, reminding one very much of the sim- 
plicity of primitive times. 

On one occasion, as we approached a village, the Sheik and 
chief men of the tribe came forth to meet us, and after the 
usual salutation conducted us to their camp. Rich rugs were 
spread on the ground where we were to sit, and soft pillows 
given us to recline on, after which we were served with bread, 
honey, milk, coffee, and every other delicacy they had, the chiefs 
joining us in our repast, which was accompanied by singing, 
and music on a stringed instrument something like a violin. 
They pressed us earnestly to stay with them over night, and 
when we declined, the Sheik appeared disappointed, and said, 
" I would rather bury one of my children than have you go." 
And he really seemed to mean it. In parting he gave us the 
customary blessing, and refused any gift for himself or servants. 

The men generally wear the aba, girdle, and turban, and 
the women a dress of blue cotton cloth, with a white veil thrown 
over the head, the latter frequently elevated from twelve to fif- 
teen inches above the head by a silver horn, richly chased, which 
makes them look very tall and defiant. Among the wealthy, 
and on special occasions, a silk fabric is worn. 

This tantura, or horn, denotes wealth, position, and power, 
and is interesting as illustrating and explaining that familiar 
expression of the Psalmist, " My horn shalt thou exalt like the 
horn of an unicorn." 1 The females all tattoo their cheeks and 

1 Psalm xcii, 10. 

24 



370 



BIBLE LAJN'DS. 



chin, the back of their hands, and arms up to the elbow, also 
the top of their feet and ankles. Their finger nails are painted 
red and their eyebrows black, giving them rather a hideous 
appearance. 

We met here with some young men living with women much 
older than themselves ; and when we inquired the cause, were 
told that " the price of young women had gone up fearfully of 
late, and they couldn't afford to marry youthful maidens." 
One of our guides was a married man, and when we expressed 
a desire to see his wife, he replied, he had never yet seen her 
himself, and then went on to explain that he was poor, and had. 
to pay for her in labor or service, and that she would remain 
with her father until he "worked her out." Among these 
tribes you can buy a camel, horse, or piece of land on credit, 
but not a beautiful woman ; for all such articles you have to 
pay the cash or its equivalent on delivery. 

Bashan was but a small portion of trans- Jordanic Palestine,, 
and yet contained sixty "fenced cities," with towering wall s- 
and gates secured with " brazen bars." Out of over one hun- 
dred places mentioned in the Scriptures as belonging to this- 
region, a few only have been identified; of most of them 
nothing is left but heaps of shapeless ruins without either name- 
or story. Sometimes a solitary column will be found, standing- 
like a lone sentinel with all his comrades lying at his feet, guard- 
ing the gate-way to some long deserted city. The old highways- 
connecting these cities may still be traced by the deeply-worn 
ruts of chariot wheels in their solid beds, though no wayfaring- 
man has walked therein for ages ; and occasionally a bridge niay 
be seen spanning some stream, or a mile-stone marking the dis- 
tance to some unknown place, but nothing remains by which 
the names of many of these places can be determined. 



GIANT CITIES. 



371 



In a few of these cities houses may be found perfect as the 
day they were built. They are constructed entirely of stone, 
generally of black basalt hard as flint. 'Not only are the walls 
stone, but the floors, roofs, doors, even the window-shutters and 



SCARFED STONE WALL. 

hinges. ~No mortar was used in the construction of these build- 
ings, but the stones were scarfed, so as to bind them firmly to- 
gether. In some instances the doors are beautifully paneled, 
with moldings running round, and / |jp^ 
ornamented with clusters of fruit 
and flowers. Some of the houses 
consist of several apartments with 
folding doors communicating, each 
door a single slab of stone. The 
streets are paved with stone, the 
court-yards flagged with stone, the 
gates leading to them are stone, 
some of them ten feet high and 
eight inches thick, with stone hinges, 
and grooves for brazen bolts. In 
the stables all the stalls and man- 
gers are stone, and from the charac- 
ter of their habitations, one would 
suppose that the great aim of the 
former inhabitants of this land was 
to fortify themselves against their enemies, as each house is 
a fortification of itself. The cisterns, baths, and aqueducts 




STONE DOOR. 



372 



BIBLE LANDS. 



which supplied them are all hewn in the solid rock, and in 
some of them water may still be found. 

Many of these cities belong to the Greek and Eoman period ; 
others, however, are pre-historic, and carry us back to the first 
settlements made by man after the flood. Or, probably, they 
may owe their origin to the Geshnrites, that powerful race of 
men known as giants, who occupied this land when Israel came 
up out of Egypt. And what is remarkable, in some of the 
oldest buildings materials from still older edifices may be seen, 
indicating a remote antiquity, and showing that portions of 
these structures must date back at least four thousand years. 

After the conquest of the country by Alexander, the Grecian 
architecture was introduced ; and when occupied by the Romans, 
every thing was remodeled in conformity to their ideas ; and 
when Christianity became the established religion many old 
pagan temples were converted into Christian churches. So we 
frequently find ancient temples of Baal, first dedicated to some 
Greek or Roman deity, and afterward consecrated to the wor- 
ship of Christ. Some of the inscriptions on these temples are 
very curious, as showing the religious changes that have taken 
place during the last two thousand years. One feels very sol- 
emn standing in these ruined churches, amid these deserted 
cities, gazing upon the broken columns and tottering walls of 
grand edifices that once resounded with the high praises of Je- 
hovah, but are now without a single worshiper — all silent as the 
grave. Nothing could be more clear than the fulfillment of 
prophecy, in the utter overthrow and desolation of these once 
famous cities. 

The nations which anciently held this country having either 
been killed in battle or carried away captives to other lands, 
their cities were not destroyed — only deserted — and their houses, 



FIKST EXPLOEEES OF BASHAN. 373 

being constructed of stone, are still in good preservation. The 
present Arab population have always lived in tents ; and from 
superstitious notions avoid these cities under the impression 
that they are haunted, or inhabited by evil spirits, so that many 
of these places are without an inhabitant. Often, in a day's ride, 
you will pass the ruins of half-a-dozen nameless deserted cities, 
built by an unknown people, or a people long since forgotten. 
Yet we know they were of our race, possessed of human feel- 
ings and affections, and in every other respect very much like 
ourselves ; and after the lapse of ages, from their dwellings we 
can see how they lived ; from their temples, how they wor- 
shiped ; from their theaters, how they amused themselves ; and 
from their tombs, how they died and were buried ; but as to 
their history, we know nothing more. A striking fulfillment 
of the prophecy, " The cities thereof shall be desolate, without 
any to dwell therein." 1 

The first European to visit this unexplored region was Burck- 
hardt, in 1814. Since then, a few other travelers have passed 
hastily through it, among them the Rev. J. L. Porter, who, in 
his " Giant Cities of Bashan," has furnished us with much valu- 
able information touching this country. Still later, the Ameri- 
can Palestine Exploration Society sent out two exploring par- 
ties, but owing to the lack of funds and the unsettled condition 
of the land they failed in accomplishing their work. 

To describe at length these remarkable remains of a former 
civilization, so replete with interest to science and religion, would 
require us to go beyond the limits of this volume. We shall, 
therefore, only give a brief sketch of some of the most interest- 
ing ruins visited in our late trip through the Hauran. 

Leaving Gadara when the sun, as the Arabs express it, was 

1 Jeremiah xlviii, 9. 



374 



BIBLE LANDS. 



about "six lances high," we continued up the valley of the 
H.ieromax, or Yarmuk, and over J ebel Ajlun, by the old cities 
of Abila and Capitolias, to Adraha, supposed by some to be 
Edrei, the ancient capital of Bashan. There is nothing here, 
however, to indicate royalty, or that it was ever a place of great 
strength. The city is literally buried beneath the filth of ages. 
The only ruin of any extent is an old Christian church, open- 
ing on a court surrounded by cloisters,, in one of which we 
found an empty basaltic sarcophagus, ornamented with lions' 
heads. It is said there is a subterranean city beneath the more 
modern, and we looked long for it, and inquired diligently of 
the natives, but could learn nothing. As the place is entirely 
destitute of living water, the probability is, the numerous cis- 
terns below gave rise to the report ; and during a state of siege, 
the citizens would very naturally take refuge in these cisterns, 
which would explain the statement that when the Romans oc- 
cupied the place, and attempted to draw water, " their buckets 
were always cut from the ropes by some malignant spirit." 

From Adraha to Bozrah we followed the old Roman road, 
crossing the Zeidy on an ancient stone bridge, and traveling 
most of the distance through one continuous grain-field. We 
were ten hours making the journey, and it was after night be- 
fore we reached our tents, which were pitched near the spring 
a little north-west of the city. It being quite dark, and we 
compelled to pick our steps over heaps of rubbish, I became 
separated from our party just outside the gate, and soon found 
I was lost ! lost amid the interminable ruins of a deserted city. 
My first impulse was to ride round the city until I came to our 
camp, but very soon discovered it was no easy matter to ride 
five or six miles over broken walls in the darkness of the night. 
I next tried to find my way through the city, but the streets 



BOZRAH. 



375 



were so blocked up with ruins as to render the task impossible. 
My great fear was, of falling in with the desperate robbers who 
frequently infest these abandoned cities. Finally I made for 
the citadel, and fortunately met there a Turkish soldier who 
conducted me safely to our tents. 

Bozrah, once the Roman capital of Bashan and the Hauran, 
is situated on the plain of Moab, which is here, perhaps, fifty 
miles wide from east to west, and, with the exception of some 
sandy ridges, is of unusual richness and fertility. The Castle 
of Bozrah, with its deep fosse and massive square towers, is a 
citadel of great strength, and commands a view of the surround- 
ing country for many miles. The outer walls are almost per- 
fect, and within, besides the numerous courts, halls, and gal- 
leries of a great fortress, there are the remains of a grand am- 
phitheater nearly three hundred feet across the arena, with a 
Doric colonnade running round the upper tier of seats, and two 
large royal apartments of the same order, on either side of the 
stage. Underneath the theater are extensive vaults and dun- 
geons where the wild beasts were kept, similar to those under 
the Colosseum at Rome, only deeper and larger. In one of 
these vaults there was standing a white marble column, beauti- 
fully polished, that glittered like alabaster in the light of our 
tapers, probably the first light to flash upon it in many centuries. 
Some of the passage-ways were covered overhead with old col- 
umns laid crosswise, and the arches were most unique in their 
construction, clearly indicating the work of different ages, and 
great antiquity. Many of these underground apartments are 
almost closed with rubbish, and as I groped my way from dun- 
geon to dungeon, the gloom and silence, together with the vast- 
ness and massiveness of the work, impressed me as no other 
ruin had ever done before. The city must have contained a 



376 



BIBLE LANDS. 



population of at least one hundred thousand, and the whole 
plain for many miles aronnd is dotted with the black remains 
of other cities and villages, presenting a picture of desolation 
rarely met with. 

Little is known of the early history of Bozrah. Jeremiah 
first mentions it among the cities of " the plain country in the 
land of Moab," 1 but it must have been a nourishing city, given 
up to wickedness, long before Jeremiah denounced against it 
the judgments of God. It is next mentioned in the Talmud, 
and by Josephus. 2 When the Romans conquered the country 
it was greatly enlarged, and by Trajan made the capital of 
Arabia. And the Emperor Philip, who was a native of Bashan, 
conferred still greater honors upon the place by making it the 
metropolis of his eastern kingdom. Early in the Christian 
era it became the seat of a bishopric, and afterward of an arch- 
bishopric, with thirty-three dioceses, and in time the center 
of Nestorian power and controversy. Being a frontier city, it 
was among the first to fall before the Moslem invaders, and 
from that moment began to decline, until now nothing re- 
mains but heaps of broken columns and tottering walls, to 
mark the site of this once renowned Roman metropolis. 

Rummaging among the ruins, we found many inscriptions in 
Greek, Latin, Cufic, and Nabathean characters, generally giving 
the name and builder of the edifice. On the square base of a 
column half buried in the ground close by our encampment,, 
probably the remains of some bath or temple, w r e found a bold 
Latin inscription, stating that the building was dedicated to 
"Antonia Fortunata, the devoted wife of Antonius Caesar." 
There are many sermons written on these broken pillars and 
crumbling walls. You can sit for a whole day in an old temple 

1 Jeremiah xlviii, 24. 2 Antiquities, xii, 8. 



CITADEL OF BOZEAII. 



377 



musing over the past, and living through two or three thou- 
sand years in an hour. 

Here are Christian churches, some of them probably planted 
by Paul when he first preached in Arabia, 1 once crowded with 
worshipers, but now empty and quiet as the grave ; grand tem- 
ples dedicated to different pagan divinities, entirely deserted, 
without priest or devotee ; triumphal arches, erected in honor 
of men unknown in history, tottering with age, and ready to 
fall ; beautiful tombs, reared to the memory of persons long 
since forgotten; palaces, theaters, and other public edifices, 
unoccupied for centuries, and yet, in their decay, beautiful to 
behold. 

Many of the columns that lie around on every hand are evi- 
dently of greater antiquity than the buildings in which they 
are found. Some of them are marble, a few porphyry. On one 
of the latter, standing in an old mosque, is the singular Greek 
inscription, " In the name of Christ our Saviour." On others 
you will find, perhaps, the name of some heathen deity, and 
wherever you stroll you meet with these inscriptions and 
sculptured stones, reminding one of the desolation of Pompeii. 
Truly, " Judgment is come upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities 
of the land of Moab, far and near." 2 East of the city, near 
the mosque of Caliph Othman, is an immense reservoir, of 
beautiful workmanship, five hundred and thirty feet long, and 
four hundred and twenty wide, supplied by aqueducts from 
distant mountain springs ; and another, near the citadel, al- 
most as large, designed to flood the fosse when necessary, both 
in good condition, and still full of water. 

The great mosque, said to have been erected by Caliph Omar, 
contains among many others in marble and granite, seventeen 

1 Galatians i, 17. 2 Jeremiah xlviii, 21-24. 



378 



BIBLE LAjNDS. 



porphyry monolith columns of the Corinthian order, probably 
taken from the Cathedral of Bozrah, or some older pagan tem- 
ple. The church of the Nestorian monk, Boheira, who, it is 
said, assisted Mohammed in writing the Koran, is a grand old 
edifice, square without and circular within, very much like Dr. 
Hall's fine church in jSTew York. From a Greek inscription 
over the entrance, it appears to have been originally a Christian 
church erected by Julianus, Archbishop of Bozrah, A. D. 513, 



3 




BOZRAH. 



in honor of the blessed martyrs Sergius, Bacehus, and Leon- 
this. How sad to contemplate such ruins ! 

Near the center of the city four tall Corinthian pillars, with 
their capitals, are all that remain standing of an imposing tem- 
ple that once stood upon this spot. Some ruins east of the Cas- 
tle are interesting on account of their ponderous stone doors, 
several being at least ten feet high, and eleven inches thick, still 
swinging on their stone pivot hinges. The western gate — Bab 



SAL C AH. 



379 



el Hawa — i; Gate of the "Winds," is a fine specimen of Roman 
architecture. Nothing could be more graceful than the arches 
which span the roadway, the pavement of which is still un- 
broken. Five minutes' walk directly west of this is a round 
tower eighteen feet in diameter, standing on a square base, per- 
haps a tomb or watch-tower, and very beautiful. The stone 
has the ring and appearance of metal, and is about as hard, yet 
of the finest workmanship. 

Salcah, the eastern border of Og's kingdom, 1 though six 
hours distant, can be distinctly seen from Bozrah, and the road 
leading thereto is as straight as an arrow. About half a mile 
east of Bozrah we passed a little stone mosque with stone door 
and tracery windows, said to mark the place where ALoham- 
med's camel stopped when the Prophet first came to Bozrah. 
\Te followed the Boman road most of the way, over a rich 
plain covered with small, irregular blocks of basalt, but yielding 
abundant crops of grain. The Citadel of Salcah is built in the 
crater of an extinct volcano that rises about five hundred feet 
above the plain, and very difficult to ascend, owing to the lava 
and cinders that cover its slopes. The walls of the castle are 
massive, and of great height. Outside of them are two moats, 
one about two hundred feet below the other, rendering the po- 
sition one of great strength. The interior is a labyrinth of 
dark vaults, narrow passages, and spacious halls : in one of the 
latter we saw a beautiful rose-window in stone tracery. Many 
curious sculptures of lions, palm-trees, eagles, and human busts, 
adorn the walls, but no inscriptions throwing light on its early 
history. And yet, from the large beveled blocks and other 
old material that may be seen every-where in the more modern 
portion of the fortress, there must have been a citadel here be- 

1 Deuteronomy iii, 10. 



380 



BIBLE LANDS. 



fore the Roman Conquest, and perhaps as early as the invasion 
of Bashan by Moses. ~No view could be more extensive than 
that from the towers of this " castle in the air." On the 
north and west may be seen Hermon, AjMn, and the mountains 
of the Hauran ; to the south, the plain of Moab, covered with 
desolate cities far as the eye can reach ; and to the east, the 
vast desert of Arabia dotted with tells, stretching away to the 
great river — the river Euphrates. 

One hour east of Salcah, on the bosom of the plain, is 
Orman, the birth-place of Philip the Arabian, and where he 
was crowned Emperor of Rome. The country east and south 
of this appears one great plain, with tells or conical hills rising 
up here and there like islands in the sea, many of them the 
craters of extinct volcanoes. These tells are generally connected 
by low, sandy ridges, the depressions between them affording 
rich pasturage for the flocks and herds of the Bedouins. We 
met here with several Arabs trading with the tribes of this 
great desert, and they represented the country as rich and pop- 
ulous. One of them had brought in, a few days before, a 
thousand camels for the Damascus market, and was pasturing 
tb em near Salcah. We also met with Zadam, the intelligent 
Sheik of the Beni-Sackka tribe, who told me of a depression 
like the Jordan Yalley, about four days' journey east of Znrka 
Main, and extending far down into Arabia. He called it 
Wady el Azrak — the blue valley — and said his tribe usually 
wintered in it, as they found there plenty of water, good pas- 
turage, and many date-bearing palm-trees. He further said 
there was a lake of pure, sweet water in this oasis, and on its 
shore an old castle, with but one double stone door, large enough 
to admit a camel, with inscriptions in an unknown language 
on the lintel and down the door jams. As this tribe occupy 



GREAT DESERT OF ARABIA. 



381 



Southern Moab, I took occasion to ask him if he ever saw any 
of the Moabite pottery. He at once described several pieces 
he had found, two jars with inscriptions running round them, 
and many smaller vessels and images. He also spoke of a slab 
of basalt with the image of a man in bass-relief, about six feet 
high, with hands clasped in front, and the head resting on one 
shoulder, bearing an inscription of four lines across the base, 
which, of course, he could not read. When I inquired what 
uecame of this slab, he replied, " "We buried it." 

After enjoying the hospitality of the Sheik of Salcah, who 
had prepared a sumptuous feast for us, and calling to examine 
some folding stone doors in the lower part of the village, we 
turned our faces toward Bozrah ; returning via Kerioth, one of 
the oldest, and at one time among the largest, cities of Bashan. 
You will find it mentioned in the judgments denounced against 
the cities of Moab by Jeremiah and Amos. 1 There are some 
very old houses and square towers here, with heavy walls and 
stone doors. One, in which we took shelter from a rain-storm, 
was ornamented with the vine and clusters of grapes, clearly 
indicating that it belonged to the Jewish period. Others ap- 
pear still older, and many evidently date back to the Kephaim, 
who first settled this land. During our stay here a number of 
children gathered about us, and a large boy, for some cause, 
struck one of them on the head, and the little fellow began to 
cry most piteously. To pacify him, I gave him a piaster ; when 
instantly the big boy, without any provocation, began rapping 
them all over the head, raising a terrible howl. All which was 
for backsheesh. 

1 Jeremiah xlviii, 21 ; Amos ii, 2. 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE LAND OF UZ. 

Suweideh — Ancient Tombs — Kunawat — The Kenath of the Bible — Interesting 
Monuments — Strong Towers — Serai of Job — Land of Uz — Probable Scene of 
Job's Fiery Trial — Book of Job. 

AFTER, spending three memorable days in and around Boz- 
rah, we started early on Tuesday morning, May 2d, for 
Kunawat. Our ride most of the way was through waving 
grain fields, almost ripe for the harvest. About nine o'clock 
we passed the village of Ary, on a tell in the midst of rich 
downs, at the base of Jebel Hauran, and at noon were lunching 
under the shade of a plane-tree in an old Christian church, just 
without the walls of Suweideh, the present capital of the Hauran. 

This city was beautifully situated on a low spur pi the Hau- 
ran mountains, and must have been a place of considerable im- 
portance ; but not a temple, palace, or house remains entire — all 
ruin and desolation — the present sparse population living in the- 
cellars or lower stories of the grand edifices that once crowned 
the ridge. And what is singular, nothing is known of the history 
of this place prior to the Roman Conquest, A. D. 105, though 
there is every reason for believing that the founding of this 
city dates much further back, as the buildings of that period 
look like patch-work, being all constructed of older materials. 

Suweideh appears to have been a commercial city, and to 
have had her " merchant princes," who have left behind them 
in two temples, monuments of their wealth and liberality, 
though their own names, with the ancient name of their city r 



SUWEIDEH. 



38a 



are forgotten. From a Greek inscription on one of these tem- 
ples, now nsed as a mosque, we learn, that it was erected by 
the " Bitaiena Company," in the eleventh year of Anrelins,. 
A. D. 171. And the other by the " Alexandrian Firm," dur- 
ing the reign of the apostate Emperor Julian. But to me, 
one of the most interesting monuments here is a Doric tomb, 
about thirty feet square and forty high, standing on the ridge 
to the north of the city. The sides are ornamented with 
twenty-four Doric columns, between which are armorial de- 
signs in bass-relief, very bold, and on the north and east faces- 
two inscriptions, one in Greek, the other in Palmy rene, stating 
that " Odainathos, son of Annelos, built this monument in hon- 
or of his loving wife Chamrate." Nothing more. How touch- 
ingly beautiful this memorial of a husband's affections % Mr. 
Porter suggests that this Odainathos may have been the hus- 
band of the celebrated queen Zenobia. On another tomb is 
recorded the virtues of a lady by the name of Flavia, who died 
A. D. 135 ; but who this beautiful character was will never be 
known until the records of time are unrolled. 

Two hours' ride from Suweideh, over rocks and up among 
the mountain spurs covered with evergreen oaks, brought us to 
Kunawat, the Kenath of the Bible, and one of the " threescore- 
cities " of Argob captured by Nobah, of the tribe of Manasseh,. 
more than three thousand years ago. 1 We found our tents pitched 
a few minutes' walk west of the city, near the ruins of a beauti- 
ful periptery temple dedicated to some unknown god, which 
stood in an open court, on an elevated platform, with a portico, 
on its eastern front originally supported by twelve Corinthian 
pillars in two rows. The columns rested on square pedestals- 
about six feet high, on all of which there were inscriptions, no* 

1 Numbers xxxii, 42. 



384 



BIBLE LAjS t DS. 



longer legible. Only seven of these columns are standing ; 
the others, with many beautiful sculptured stones, lie in confused 
heaps about the court. Strolling in any direction, you will 
find beneath your feet, half buried in the earth, broken statues, 
inscribed blocks, and other remains of architectural grandeur, 
presenting a sad picture of utter desolation. The principal 
ruins of Kenath extend for about a mile along both sides of a 
ravine, through which flows a mountain stream, supplying the 
place with an abundance of good water. In this valley, above 
the bridge and east of the stream, is the theater, built against 
a rocky cliff in which the seats are excavated, with a fountain 
in the center of the orchestra. Next comes a small temple or 
bath, and just above it, on the hill, a fort or castle built of large 
beveled stones, apparently of Phoenician workmanship. The 
stone doors of this building are tastefully paneled and embossed, 
with a groove on the inside for the bolt to slide in, which, by 
a simple but secure arrangement, could also be opened from 
without. May not these bolts be the " brazen bars " referred 
to in the Scriptures ? ■ 

A few rods from this fortress is one of the many round 
towers every- where to be seen in this region. They are from 
thirty to forty feet in diameter and about fifty high — some 
round without and square within, with stone doors barely large 
enough to admit one person at a time, and very thick walls. 
They bear the marks of great age, and were, no doubt, con- 
structed for the protection of the herdsmen and shepherds from 
the Bedouins of the desert, and are the " strong towers " so 
often alluded to in the Scriptures, and to which David refers 
when he says, " The Lord is my rock and my fortress, and a 
strong tower from the enemy." 2 

1 1 Kings iv, 13. 2 Psalms xviii, 2 ; Ixi, 3. 



KUNAWAT. 385 

But the most interesting ruin in Kunawat is a group of 
buildings on the ridge in the heart of the city, known as the 
" Serai," or " Palace, of Job." 

Three large buildings of different periods, in good preserva- 
tion, are still standing. They have been remodeled and used 
as Christian Churches or convents, but evidently belong to a 
much earlier period. The door casings are elaborately orna- 
mented with vines and clusters of grapes, and the friezes with 
grotesque satyrs in wreaths of flowers and fruit. Some of the 




HEAD OF BAAL ON AN ALTAR AT KUNAWAT. 



pillars are entirely plain, with square capitals ; others Corinthian ; 
and others, again, Palmyrene, with brackets for statues. The 
large court in front is nicely paved with dressed stones, and be- 
neath it are numerous cisterns for water, and vaults for storing 
grain, or, it may be, sepulchers for the dead. There is such a 
collection of halls, galleries, and corridors, colonnades, porticoes, 
and sculpture, half buried in heaps of rubbish, and so overrun 

with brambles, hawthorn, and dwarf oaks, as to render it next 
25 



386 



BIBLE LAJNDS. 



to impossible to make any thing out of this remarkable ruin. 
A Greek inscription on the base of a column, in raised letters, 
states that the temple to which it belonged was dedicated to 
"the great god," but who that god was we are left to con- 
jecture. From a colossal head of Baal found near this, it 
would appear Baal was that deity. Some of the largest and 
most beautiful stone doors are here, still swinging on theii 
stone pivot-hinges which work in corresponding sockets in 
the door-sill and lintel ; and many other remains equally inter- 
esting. One ruin is supposed to be a temple of Ashtaroth, 
the Astarte of the Greeks, from an image of that goddess 
found near it. And another building, known as the Hippo- 
drome, presents nothing but a confused heap of broken 
columns and statues, fragments of sculptured animals and 
inscribed blocks, perfectly bewildering to behold. 

Eusebius and Pliny both mention this place under its Greek 
name, Canatha, and describe it as an " important town in Arabia, 
captured by Nobah, and belonging to the tribe of Manasseh, 
and situated in the province of Trachonitis, near Bostra;" 
thus establishing the identity of Argob and Trachonitis. We 
have here direct proof that Kunawat is the Kenath of the 
Bible and the Canatha of the Greeks, and one of the giant 
cities taken by Nobah in the conquest of Argob. 1 

How difficult it is to grasp at once the events of three thou- 
sand years ! or to realize, when wandering through the streets 
of this city, that the ruined buildings over which we clamber 
were erected before Christ was born, before Rome was found- 
ed, even before the children of Israel came up out of Egypt ;. 
that this is the land in which " the giants dwelt in old time ; " 
and that perhaps some of the ruins over which we have been 

1 Numbers xxxii, 42. 



laud or uz. 



389 



climbing were reared by that powerful race of men; that 
these cities of Bashan are among the oldest works of man, and 
were standing before Abram left his native land, and before 
the patriarch Job endured his fiery trial. 

But that which staggers our faith more than all this, is to 
believe the tradition, now almost an established fact, that the 
Hauran is " the land of Uz that Job was one of the first 
princes of this country ; that this city of Kenath was his home ; 
and that the " Serai,*' or palace, that still bears his name marks 
the site of his severe trial and glorious triumph. 

There has been much discussion as to the locality of the 
country where Job resided. The name, doubtless, was derived 
from Uz, the grandson of Shem, 1 who is said to have founded 
Damascus and Trachonitis, 2 and probably lived in this neigh- 
borhood, giving his name to the district where he resided. 
The country being exposed to the incursions of the Chaldeans 
and Sabeans, must have been a frontier province to the north- 
east of Palestine. It could not have been as far south as Edom, 
for " the daughter of Edom " was in exile when dwelling: in 
the land of Uz. 3 And the Edomite Uz is not to be confounded 
with the grandson of Shem, the Edomite being a descendant 
of the Horites, who removed from their own country and set- 
tled in "the land of Uz." Some locate the home of Job in 
^Mesopotamia, near the Euphrates. But if Aram and Syria are 
identical, which none will deny ; and if Padan-Aram, as we 
think can be shown, was in Syria round about Damascus, and 
sometimes called Aram Damascus ; 4 and if the land of Uz de- 
rived its name from the son of Aram and lay to the north-east 
of Israel, in Aram, or between Aram and Edom, as is more 

1 Genesis x, 23. 2 Josephus, Antiquities, i, 6. 

3 Lamentations iv, 21. 4 2 Samuel viii, 5. 



390 



BIBLE LAINTDS. 



than probable ; then, no country can so fully meet all the con- 
ditions and facts in the life and writings of this remarkable 
man, as the Hauran. So there is some ground for the tradition 
that locates ITz in Aram, and the residence of Job at Kunawat. 

This locality is not only the traditionary but historic Uz. 
Chrysostom speaks of many peojDle, during the first centuries 
of our era, making pilgrimages to the Hauran to see the spot 
" where the patient patriarch sat and scraped himself with a 
potsherd." "Wetstein, Delitzsch, and other eminent biblical 
scholars were of the opinion that Job was a native of the 
Hauran. It also accords with the general belief that the 
buffalo, or " strong bull of Bashan," was the behemoth of Job. 
And the customs, productions, and topography of the country, 
and the high degree of civilization described in the Book of 
Job, agree better with this locality than with any other in the 
East. 

In a note appended to the Book of Job in the Septuagint 
version, it is stated, "That the translation was made out of a 
Syriac book, and that Job dwelt in the land of Ausitis, on the 
confines of Idumea." Now we know that the Herodian family 
was of Idumean origin, and, if their country did not extend 
so far north as the Hauran, that Bashan was given to Herod 
the Great by Augustas Caesar, that it was also part of Philip's 
tetrarchy, 1 and that it was afterward given by Caligula to 
Herod Agrippa, and after Caligula's death, conveyed by 
Claudius to Agrippa II. 2 And it is a singular coincidence, 
that among the ruins of a temple at Sia, near Kenath, very 
similar to the temple of Solomon, were found a statue of 
Herod the Great, and an inscription containing the names of 
the two Herod Agrippas. 

1 Josephus, War, ii, 6 ; Antiquities, xviii, 4. 2 Antiquities, xx, 7. 



GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION. 



391 



Uz, the eldest son of Xahor, probably lived in the country 
that bore his name. He was the brother of Buz, and it will be 
remembered that Elihu, the young friend of Job, was a " Buzite, 
of the kindred of Aram," 1 showing that the land of Uz was in 
close proximity to Aram, as was also Aram to the Hauran ; 3 
and that Job may have been a descendant of Xahor, the brother 
of Abraham. But whether Job was an Israelite or Ishmaelite, 
it is generally admitted that he lived in Arabia, near the fron- 
tier of Palestine ; that he must have had some acquaintance 
with Abraham or his immediate descendants ; and that the 
country named fulfills the conditions of the narrative better 
than any other known. This region was never before visited 
by an American, and it was with peculiar feelings we strolled 
over the traditional estate of Job, drank from the spring of 
Job, slept in the old house of Job, and cooked our meals on, 
perhaps, the same hearth-stone where that holy man, in his 
great affliction, once sat in the ashes. 

From the inspired record it appears that Job was an eastern 
prince of great wealth and unflinching integrity. Of no other 
man was it ever said by the Almighty, " There is none like him 
in the earth, a perfect and an upright man ; one that fears G-od, 
and escheweth evil." 3 As a writer, his style is highly Oriental, 
his conceptions sublime, and his arguments unanswerable. Xo 
other book in the Old Testament is so full of divine truth, and 
none contain such revelations of the invisible world. It was 
probably first written in the Arabic, and afterward translated 
into the Hebrew by, perhaps, ALoses, who is supposed to have 
been his contemporary ; though some biblical historians make 
him the contemporary of Abraham. 

All this region was anciently known as " the East/'' and it 

1 Job xxxii, 2. - 1 Chronicles ii, 23. s Job i, S. 



392 



BIBLE LANDS. 



was probably from here the Magi came with their costly pres- 
ents to worship the infant Saviour; as frankincense, myrrh, 
and other aromatics are indigenons to this section, and a star 
blazing over Bethlehem could be distinctly seen from here. 

Nothing could be more picturesque than the scenery around 
Kunawat. The babbling waters leap in cascades down the 
mountain. The hills are covered with forests of oak — the oaks 
of Bashan ; and from almost every high place some round tower 
or ruined temple, overrun with woodbine, wild flowers, and 
creepers, may be seen lifting its venerable weather-beaten head, 
as if defying the ravages of time. 




GRECIAN TEMPLE. 



CHAPTER VII. 



ARGOB AND PAD AIT-ARAM. 

Tribal Wars — The Lejah — A Sea of Congealed Iron — Part of Ancient Argob — 
Druses — Their History and Religion — Edrei, the Ancient Capital of Bashan — 
Taken by Moses — Mirage — PadanAram — Haran, near Damascus — Laban the 
Syrian. 

THE night before leaving Kunawat we were waited on by a 
deputation from the village, and told not to be alarmed if 
we heard firing in the night, as they expected an attack from 
some of their enemies, with whom they had had a quarrel, as 
usual, about a young woman. Frequent reports of guns were 
heard during the night, but I slept through all ; and in the 
morning learned that eight of the enemy had been killed, 
and twelve or more wounded. The victory was celebrated by 
a grand war-dance, very similar to that among the North Ameri- 
can Indians. 

Soon after leaving camp we saw a large wolf near some tombs 
west of Kenath, and shortly afterward a hyena ran slowly across 
our path. In about two hours we passed Suleim, where there 
is the ruin of a beautiful temple, and crossing a rich plain cov- 
ered with porous tufa bowlders, struck about noon the Lejah, a 
most singular region. The name signifies " rocky," and is de- 
scriptive of its physical aspect, being a wild, sterile district re- 
sembling a sea of lava poured out from a thousand craters, and 
spread like a coat of mail over the surface of the plain. It 
looks very much like iron, is about as hard, and when riding 
over it, has the ring of iron. Though you see no great ele- 



394 BIBLE LAls T DS. 

rations, the surface is not level, but undulating and broken — 
very rough in places, with many deep chasms and fissures, as if 
there had been internal disturbances and upheavals during its 
cooling process — a congealed sea of iron. 

This remarkable district, forming the northern boundary of 
the Hauran, is about twenty-five miles long by twenty wide ; 
and has always been a hiding-place for Bedouin robbers and 
wild beasts, and a place of retreat for the natives in time of 
danger, the numerous caves and clefts affording them a safe 
shelter from their enemies; its rocky fastnesses being inac- 
cessible to horsemen, and its labyrinth of pits and crevices 
dangerous to footmen. The Arabs call it the " Fortress of 
God." Being in the midst of a vast plain unsurpassed for its 
productiveness, the remains of at least fifty cities and villages 
are found within its iron-clad limits, built there, no doubt, for 
security, as there are no living streams in this desolate region, 
and the only arable ground, a few small patches in the depres- 
sions, formed by the dust blown in from the surrounding plain. 
That the Lejah is a portion of the Argob of Scripture, after- 
ward known as Trachonitis, there can be but little doubt, the 
Hebrew Argob having the same meaning as the Greek Trach- 
onitis, and the same cities located by Moses in the former, later 
historians locate in the latter. We also find on the temple at 
Mnsmeih, ancient Phseno, one of the principal cities of the 
Lejah, an inscription of forty lines, giving a history of the 
place as the capital of Trachonitis ; thus establishing, beyond 
controversy, the identity of the Lejah with Argob, and Argob 
with Trachonitis, over which "Philip the Tetrarch" ruled in 
the days of Christ. 1 

Many of the villages of the Lejali and of the Hauran 

1 Luke iii, 1. 



DRUSES. 



395 



are occupied by Druses, a peculiar people, with a strange 
history and mysterious religion. They are of Caucasian ex- 
traction, being the descendants of the Mardi, a warlike tribe 
from north of the Caspian Sea, who settled among the Lebanon 
mountains about the close of the seventh century of our era. 
They have always been an independent, exclusive, and revenge- 
ful people, and yet noted for their hospitality, truthfulness, 
and temperance. Strangers among them are entertained in 
true patriarchal style. To one of their own sect they never 
tell a falsehood ; and a good Druse never drinks wine nor smokes 
tobacco. Their religion is a mixture of idolatry, Mohammed- 
anism, and Christianity, dating back to the Egyptian Caliph 
Hakin, whom they regard as their founder and prophet. Their 
meetings for worship are held on Thursday evenings, and are 
of a social, religious, and political character. Having no regu- 
lar priesthood, these services are conducted by their sheiks, or 
emirs, as they are called, who are their religious and political 
leaders. These meetings are all held secretly, no stranger or 
uninitiated person being admitted under amy circumstances, and 
in character partake of a secret organization, with different de- 
grees, signs, and passwords. They are an intelligent, tidy, and 
industrious people, almost white, with red cheeks, and in every 
respect far superior to the ordinary Arab. In making some ex- 
plorations in this region, Prof. Lewis, of Beirut, on one occasion, 
left his horse, shawl, and gloves, near the path. After an hour's 
absence he returned, and was surprised to find his shawl and 
gloves gone. He at once communicated the robbery to the 
emir of the nearest village, remarking, "That he thought 
the Druses were never guilty of stealing, and was sorry to 
lose his good opinion of them." The emir replied, " It 
was not his people that committed the theft, but some 



396 



BIBLE LANDS. 



Christians who had passed that way during the professor's 
absence." However that may be, the articles were returned 
in a few hours. 

!N"ejran is a large old city within the Lejah, but its ancient 
name and history are unknown. It is now inhabited by the 
Druses, and as we drew near the place, the emir and his chiefs 
met us with the usual salam, giving us a cordial welcome,, 
and, after entertaining us in the most hospitable manner, ex- 
pressed their regrets as we were leaving that we could not 
stay with them longer. One hour from here brought us to 
the extensive ruins of Kiratah, where there is an abundance 
of water. Soon after leaving this place we were overtaken by 
a furious wind and rain-storm ; some of our pack mules were 
swamped, and one we rescued with great difficulty from tho 
rushing waters, which carried him far down the stream. The 
sun, however, came out bright and warm as we approached 
Edreij where we encamped for the night, much to the alarm 
and amazement of its sparse population. 

Edrei, the ancient capital of Bashan, 1 is situated on a spur of 
the Lejah, that runs far out toward the west into the fertile 
plain which incloses it on three sides. The ruins are not so 
extensive, but appear older than those of Bozrah. Many of 
the houses are still in their primitive state, though half buried 
in the rubbish of ao-es. Everv thino- about them is stone — black 
basalt, hard as flint — and yet, in some instances, of beautiful 
workmanship, though generally massive, gloomy, and rude. As 
the city had to rely entirely upon the rains for water, there are 
many cisterns, and underground vaults for storing grain. So- 
when you ride through the city there is a hollow sound, as if 
you were riding over subterranean houses. It was with peculiar 

1 Xiimbers xxi. 83. 



ED EEL 



399 



feelings we stood on the walls of this old city of Og, and 
looked ont over the rich plain, and considered that on that 
very plain the Amorites met the conquering Israelites in battle, 
and that perhaps on the very spot we were gazing on the giant 
king of Bashan fell when his whole army was routed by Moses, 
thirty centnries and more ago. 1 

There are here several churches that well deserve a passing- 
notice. That of St. Elias, though in ruins, is the old church 
of John Methodius, and certainly the oldest 2£ethodist church 
in the world. The Church of St. George, not the saint 
who killed the dragon, but the porter who aided Paul in his 
escape from Damascus, is a unique building, of an early date, 
and almost perfect. It is square without, and octagonal within, 
with an apsis containing three tiers of stone seats back of the 
pulpit. The rotunda is surmounted by an egg-shaped dome, 
thirty-six feet in diameter, resting on eight square piers. There 
never could have been a particle of wood about the building, the 
seats, altar-rail, doors, shutters, ceiling, roof, every thing stone. 
Trom an inscription over the door we learn that it was first a 
heathen temple, then a Christian church, and now a Moham- 
medan mosque. In the crypt we found many human skeletons 
wrapped in their winding sheets, perhaps the relics of the men 
and women who once sat under the preaching of Paul — the first 
converts from paganism — sleeping here, in their silent tombs, 
awaiting the trump of God, which shall call them to life again. 

To avoid the sharp rocks of the Lejah, we turned to the 
west from Edrei, reaching Aere for luncheon. TTe found here 
some large ruins, but were not able to make any thing out of 
them. Some of the stone doors were folding, and large enough 
to ride through without difficulty. 

1 Xumbers xxi, 33-35. 



400 



BIBLE LANDS. 



At Aere we struck again the great Haj trail from Damascus to 
Mecca, which follows the old Eoman road far down into Southern 
Arabia. Many caravans were going and coming, but all under 
guard. How strange that from the oldest city in the world 
not a caravan, diligence, or traveler can leave, except under 
military escort. Riding over the plain a little west of the 
Lejah, we witnessed a singular phenomenon — one of those 
beautiful mirages peculiar to this region, produced, probably, 
by the glare of the sun on this metallic mirror. The entire 
Lejah looked like a rippled sea of glass, bordered with forests, 
with here and there islands covered with foliage. The whole 
effect was wonderful. In the evening we encamped at a place 
called Ghubaghib, near a Turkish garrison, and were compelled 
to add two of the soldiers to our guard to keep the garrison 
from robbing us. Such is Turkish rule. 

Starting at an early hour to avoid the heat, a ride of two 
hours brought us to Musmeih, the Phseno of the Greeks, the 
capital city of Trachonitis, the Argob of Joshua. The Lejah 
here has the same general appearance — that of a molten sea of 
iron suddenly chilled, then settling and cracking, leaving the 
surface full of rents and air-bubbles. The principal ruin at 
Musmeih is a temple of a florid style of architecture. Three 
Doric columns of the portico are still standing, and to the 
right of the entrance on the door-casing is the long inscription 
to which we have already referred. A path winding among 
the broken and jagged rocks leads from here to Burak, a de- 
serted city on the extreme northern limit of the Lejah, contain- 
ing many massive houses with beautiful stone doors, the slabs 
forming the roofs and floors looking like oak plank, twelve 
feet long and three inches thick, nicely jointed. Many of the 
liouses were well preserved. From Burak the road leads di- 



PADA^-AKAM. 



401 



rectlj to Damascus, distant about twenty-five miles ; but we 
shall sweep round to the east by way of Harran el Awamid, 
which is more than likely the Haran where Abraham buried 
his father on his way to Canaan. 

The country called Aram probably took its name from Aram, 
the son of Shem and father of Uz, who first settled in this 
quarter of the globe. After the Greek conquest it was known 
as Syria, and in the Greek translations of the Bible Aram is 
always rendered Syria, the two names having the same import 
and being used in common to denote the same country. The 
name signifies " highland," and was originally applied to both 
ranges of the Lebanon, the Hauran, and all the mountains of 
Palestine on both sides of the Jordan as far north as the 
Orontes. Of the several districts into which this country was 
divided, Aram Damascus was the principal; and though at 
first it only included the territory around that ancient city, was 
afterward applied to the whole of Syria, of which Damascus 
was for a long time the capital. Padan-Aram, where " Laban 
the Syrian " 1 lived, rendered in the Hebrew Aram-]N~aharaim, 
" the Plain of Aram," or the country between the rivers, or, as 
Dean Stanley renders it, " the cultivated district at the foot of 
the hills," we think, with Drs. Beke and Porter, refers to the 
Plain of Damascus between the rivers Pharpar and Abana. 
In the Septuagint version of the Scriptures Aram-!N"aharaim 
is translated AEesopotamia in Syria," or Syria of the two 
rivers, as if a distinction was to be made between it and the 
country lying between the Tigris and the Euphrates. 

When the Almighty appeared to Abraham and commanded 
him to " get out " of his own country, he left " the land of his 
nativity, Ur, of the Chaldees," 2 situated, not on the head 

1 Genesis xxv, 20. 2 Acts vii, 2 ; Genesis xi, 31. 

26 



402 



BIBLE LAJN'DS. 



waters of the Euphrates, but down near its entrance into the 
Persian Gulf, and settled first at Haran, which appears to have 
been somewhere near the borders of Canaan. And when we 
consider that his steward, who was "born in his house," and 
whom he raised np as his heir, was " Eliezer of Damascus," 1 
the clear meaning of which is, he was born in or near Damas- 
cus, and that Josephus informs ns, Abraham was a prince in 
this land, and " reigned at Damascus," 2 we infer that Haran 
could not have been very far from that city. The river that 
Jacob passed over after leaving Laban 8 was probably the Phar- 
par, as from here he could see the mountains of Gilead, which 
is implied in the narrative. And it appears he was only ten 
days making the journey, with his family and flocks, from 
Padan-Aram to Mount Gilead, and Laban only seven days in 
overtaking him. We rode it in eight days ; but from the 
Mesopotamia of the Greeks the journey could not be made in 
less than thirty days, and through a desert part of the way, 
where it would be impossible to drive flocks with their young. 
It will also be remembered that Nahor, the brother of Abra- 
ham, when living at Haran, named one of his sons Uz, indi- 
cating a connection between Haran and the land or family of 
Uz ; and that Laban and Jacob, when they parted for the last 
time on Mizpah-Gilead, erected an altar, and heaped up stones 
of witness to define the boundary between the possessions of 
the two families, 4 showing that they could not have lived very 
far apart. 

Now, strange as it may seem, after the lapse of near four 
thousand years, we find in the delta of the Pharpar and Abana, 
about twelve miles east of Damascus, the remains of a city pfill 



1 Genesis xv, 2. 

3 Genesis xxxi, 21, 23. 



2 Antiquities i, 7. 
4 Genesis xxxi, 52. 



IIARAN. 



403 



tearing the name of Harran, which meets every condition of 
the inspired account. It is situated in the midst of a fertile 
plain between the two rivers, and on the shores of what was 
once a large lake before the waters were drawn off to irrigate 
the desert. Three Ionic columns of black basalt are all that 
remain standing of an ancient temple without name or date ; 
and these silent witnesses, with a few fragments of sculpture,, 
and some broken stone pillars, are the only memorials left to 
mark the site of this interesting place ; which, so far as location 
and topography are concerned, may be Iiaran, " The city of 
Nahor," 1 where Terah, the father of Abraham, died, and 
where "Laban the Syrian," lived. And "the well in the 
field," where the maidens still water their flocks, may be the 
same from which Rebecca often filled her pitcher, and where 
Jacob first met with his beautiful Rachel. 2 

1 Genesis xxiv, 10. 2 Genesis xxix, 10. 



CHAPTEK VIII. 



LATEST DISCOVERIES IN ASSYRIA AND PALESTINE. 

Recovery of Long-lost Nineveh — Wonderful Remains of an Extinct Nation — As- 
syrian Records of the Creation— Cesnola's Explorations in Cyprus — Moabite 
Pottery — Suburbs of the Levitical Cities — Golden Candlestick — Image of Beel- 
zebub — House of Simon the Tanner — Hadrian's Head. 

THE discoveries lately made in Assyria among the ruins of 
long-buried Nineveh and Babylon, by Botta, Layard, Smith, 
and others, are a most valuable contribution to biblical archae- 
ology. 

These cities appear to have been founded about the same 
time. Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, by Asshur, son of 
Shem — who may also have given his name to the country — on 
the river Tigris, five hundred miles above its junction with 
the Euphrates ; Babylon, the capital of Chaldgea, by Nimrod, 
the grandson of Ham, on the Euphrates in the land of " Shi- 
nar," three hundred miles south of Nineveh. From the fre- 
quent reference to Nimrod on the Babylonian monuments, the 
name, like that of Pharaoh, probably applied to all the early 
kings of Babylonia. 

Very little is known of the early history of these cities. It 
would appear, however, from recent explorations, that the As- 
syrians at an early period conquered Chaldaea, and that after 
this event the two nations became one empire — their language, 
religion, and customs appearing to be essentially the same, and 
that the old Accadian language of Chaldsea or Babylonia grad- 
ually became extinct, being substituted by the Semitic or As- 



EXCAVATIONS AT NINEVEH. 



RECOVERY OF NINEVEH. 



407 



Syrian. Nineveh was made the political capital of the new 
empire, and Babylon the religious capital, or city of her tem- 
ples, gods, and priests. 

Profane writers furnish us with nothing but some traditions 
touching the history of these renowned cities, and the only re- 
liable information we possess of them is the little we glean 
from the Jewish prophets, and the results of late geographical 
and archseological explorations. 

Nineveh, after nourishing for many centuries as the great 
city of the East, suddenly disappeared from the earth about seven 
centuries before Christ, as if engulfed by an earthquake, and 
for ages all traces of the place were lost. Herodotus, Xeno- 
phon, and other ancient historians, make no mention of it ex- 
cept as a city no longer existing. Xerxes, Alexander, and the 
Romans, marched their armies and fought their battles over its 
site without knowing that the city lay buried beneath their 
tread. Many persons began to doubt whether such a place 
ever did exist ; and skeptics began sneeringly to inquire of the 
Christian, " Where is your great Nineveh ? What do you think 
of J onah and his whale story ? Ah, Jonah was nothing but a 
myth — his book nothing but a fable — no such city as Nineveh 
ever existed." And some believers began to fear the long- 
lost capital of Assyria never would be recovered, so literally 
was the prediction concerning it fulfilled : " I will make Nin- 
eveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness. And flocks 
shall lie down in the midst of her. . . . This is the rejoicing 
city that dwelt carelessly ; that said in her, heart, I am, and 
there is none besides me : how is she become a desolation, a 
place for beasts to lie down in ! every one that passeth by her 
shall hiss, and wag his hand." 1 

^ephaniah ii, 13-15. 



408 



BIBLE LANDS. 



Early in the present century Mr. Rich, an English traveler, 
visiting Mosul, on the Tigris, observed an old mosque on the 
top of a large mound directly opposite the city, and on inquir- 
ing its name, was told by the natives that it was Neby Yunus, 
or tomb of Jonah. Associating Jonah with Nineveh, he at 
once commenced some excavations, and soon came upon the 
ruins of what has since proved to be the grand palace of Esar- 
hacldon, son and successor of Sennacherib. The walls were of 




ASSYRIAN SCULPTURE — WINGED LION. 



great thickness, and built of large sun-dried bricks covered 
with mysterious cuneiform characters. 

This discovery soon led to others, of even greater importance, 
by Mr. Botta, the French Consul at Mosul, and Messrs. Layard, 
Rassam, and Smith, under the auspices of the British Museum. 
These gentlemen, with a strong force, began their operations in 
the great mounds at Koyunjik, Khorsabad, and Nimroud — names 
of Arab villages that have sprung up over the ruins of this 



INTERESTING- SCULPTURE. 



4:09 



ancient city — and in a very little while exhumed the magnifi- 
cent palaces of Sargon, Sennacherib, Sarclanapalns, and other 
kings of Assyria, with their wonderful collection of sculptured 
slabs in alto and bass-relief, representing the worship of their 
gods, combats with wild beasts, battle-scenes, and almost every 
event in their nation's history. So that now, after the lapse of 
twenty-five centimes, yon can stroll through the streets and 
palaces of long-lost Nineveh, see how royalty lived in those early 
days, and can almost fancy yon hear her kings tell of their great 
exploits from the thrones that are crumbling with age beneath 
them. In one sculpture Sennacherib is portrayed with a spear,, 




KIXG OF ASSYRIA PUTTING OFT THE EYES OF CAPTIYES. 



cruelly putting out the eyes of prisoners dragged into his pres- 
ence with cords, and iron hooks through their hps or nose. In 
another, we have pictured the invasion of Palestine, giving the 
very name of Hezekiah, King of Judah, together with the 
number of prisoners and amount of spoils carried away, and in 
still another, a description of the siege of Jerusalem, agreeing 
so remarkably with Ezekiel's account, that one would suppose 
the Prophet had been an eye-witness of the siege itself. 1 

1 Ezekiel iv, 1, 2. 



410 



BIBLE LANDS. 



During their explorations they came upon the bakery of 
King Sargon's palace, and the old hand-mills, with loaves of 
bread still in the ovens, baked probably before Rome was 
founded ; and the wine-cellar was discovered full of large egg- 
shaped pottery jars ; the wine had all evaporated, leaving a 
sediment in the jars, from which you could easily detect the 
odor of the grape when the vessels were filled with water. 
They also struck upon the store-room, containing many articles 
in different materials, principally wrought iron, such as nails, 
saws, chains, picks, and shovels, the latter weighing from 
twenty to thirty pounds, and so well preserved, they were put 
at once into the hands of the workmen, and the excavations 
carried on with shovels and picks forged by blacksmiths cent- 
uries before Christ was born. How marvelous all this seems ! 

This palace consisted of forty-nine halls, cased round with 
sculptured alabaster slabs, from seven to eight feet high, 
above which the walls were plastered and frescoed. The 
ceilings of the different apartments were cedar from Leb- 
anon, or blackwood from India, the floors were paved with 
marble, and the principal door-ways guarded by colossal, 
human-headed, winged bulls or lions, denoting great strength, 
wisdom, and fleetness, beautiful symbols of their divinities. 
The gates leading to the palaces were bronze, two of which, 
twenty-two feet high and sixteen feet wide, have lately been 
recovered by Mr. Rassam at Balawat, belonging to the royal 
residence of Shalmaneser II., richly wrought in low relief, re- 
cording among many other campaigns the invasion and con- 
quest of Israel by that king 859 B. C. Shalmaneser also built 
the north-west palace at Nimroud, in which was found the 
celebrated black obelisk now in the British museum. This 
obelisk, which is seven feet high and twenty-two inches square 



BLACK OBELISK. 



411 



at its base, supplies a lost link in Assyrian history, giving a full 
account of the reign of Shalmaneser II., who ascended the 
throne about S90 B. C. 

The monument bears a Cuneitic inscription of two hundred 
and ten lines, and is covered with figures in bass-relief of men 




BLACK OBELISK. 



and various animals, but not very correctly drawn — the rhinoc- 
eros having hoofs and mane, the monkeys perfect human 
features, and the camels two humps on their backs. 

After an invocation to Assarac, the supreme god of heaven, 
the king furnishes a record of his reign for thirty-one years, 



412 



BIBLE LANDS. 




INSCRIBED TABLET OF THE DELUGE. 



comprising an account of battles fought, kings conquered, and 
cities taken. Among many other places mentioned, are Baby- 
lon, Borsippa, Tyre, and Sidon ; and among his vassal kings, 
Jehu, king of Israel, and Hazael, king of Syria, whom Elijah 
anointed— confirming in a remarkable manner the ( historical 
statements of the Bible. 

But the most interesting discovery made was the finding of 
numerous inscribed tablets and cylinders in the palaces of Sen- 



RECORDS OF THE CREATION AND DELUGE. 413 



uacherib, and his grandson Asshur-bani-pal, or Sardanapalus, 
opposite Mosul. Hundreds of volumes were here found, not 
written on paper or parchment, but in the cuneiform character 
on thin bricks or clay tiles while yet soft, and then burned hard 
in the kiln. The books were neatly paged, numbered, cata- 
logued, and arranged upon shelves for the convenience of the 
reader. They were on all subjects — history, poetry, and biogra- 
phy ; agriculture, religion and politics ; also grammars, arith- 
metics and dictionaries ; legal documents, songs to their gods, 
tables of cube roots, even the multiplication table, that before 
this was supposed to have originated with Pythagoras. One 
work on astronomy covered seventy tablets, giving the posi- 
tion of the pole star, the movements of the comets, and of 
Yenus and other planets. A library was found belonging to 
one of the early kings of Ur in Chaldsea, at least 2,000 years 
B. C. Abraham was a native of this city, and here were the 
books that perhaps the patriarch read before he left his native 
land. More than twenty thousand of these tablets have been 
recovered, and, what is very strange, they all bear silent wit- 
ness to the truth of God's word ; for here, on these earthen 
tiles, as well as on the gates of brass and slabs of marble that 
once adorned these splendid palaces, was found written the 
whole history of the world, from the creation down to a thou- 
sand years after the flood, wonderfully confirming the Mosaic 
narrative ; as these ancient legends, some of them dating back 
four thousand years, must have originated in facts, and these 
facts are the facts of the Bible. 

'Not only was here found an account of the creation, the 
deluge, and the building of the Tower of Babel, but of the 
genesis of our world — the beginning, when "the earth was 
without form and void ; " also, of the origin of evil, and of 



414 



BIBLE LAJNDS. 



man, with all the particulars of his temptation, his fall, the 
curse pronounced upon him, and his expulsion from Paradise. 

But what is most strange, we find on these tablets an ac- 
count of the creation of the Mammoth, those extinct monsters 
the fossil remains of which have been such an enigma to nat- 
uralists. And on one of the seals we have a curious rep- 
resentation of the cherubim guarding the tree of life, on an- 
other the casting of the dragon, or Lucifer, out of heaven ; and 
on still another Noah, in his ark, floating on a shoreless sea. 
We also find on these cylinders and tablets the names of Abra- 
ham, Ishmael, Noah, Enoch, and other biblical characters. 




CHERUBIM GUARDING TREE OF LIFE. 



These records further show that " Eden " was the old and 
natural name of Babylon ; and we have furnished here a geo- 
graphical description of the garden in which the opening scene 
of human history is laid; answering, in every respect, the 
particulars as given in the Scriptures, even to the names of the 
four rivers that watered the garden, 

Many of these clay tablets are not more than from three to 
four inches long, by two inches wide and half an inch thick. 
The writing is in the cuneiform character, and in some instances 
so small they can only be read under a magnifying glass, and 
some such instrument must have been used in their execution. 

Thus, after the lapse of thousands of years, we see dug up 



ANTIQUITY OF BABYLON. 



415 



out of the rubbish of ages, the royal library of the Assyrian 
kings, written on slabs of stone, plates of brass, and tiles of 
burned clay, and so fully agreeing with the inspired volume, 
that they seem ahnost like a lapidary edition of the Book 
itself. And it would almost seem as if this ancient city had 
been allowed to remain entombed through so many centuries 
solely to confound the folly of modern skepticism. 

Babylon, though first mentioned in connection with ISmeveh, 
was probably founded before the flood, as the name signifies 
"the gate of God," or more properly, "the gate-way to the 




EXPULSION OF LUCIFER OUT OF HEAVEN 

garden of God," and it more than likely covered the site of 
the garden of Eden. It was only rebuilt by Nimrod, grand- 
son of Ham, " the beginning of whose kingdom was Babel," 1 
a name with which Babylon became confounded after the con- 
fusion of tongues. 

This famous city — the capital of Shinar or Chaldgea — was 
greatly enlarged and beautified by Semiramis and Nebuchad- 
nezzar. Herodotus and other ancient historians describe it as 
a vast city situated on both banks of the Euphrates, inclosed 
with double walls of great height and thickness. The two 

1 Genesis x, 10. 



416 



BIBLE LANDS. 



portions of the city were connected by a bridge half a mile 
long spanning the river, also by a tunnel under the river bed, 
traces of which still remain. Recent researches show that 
these statements in reference to the extent and magnificence 
of Babylon were not exaggerations. 

Mr. Rassam, so long connected with explorations in the East, 
has lately made some valuable discoveries on the site of this 
ancient city. He has succeeded in identifying the grand palace 
of Nebuchadnezzar, and in connection therewith found the re- 
mains of the celebrated hanging gardens, erected by that king 
to please his Median queen : great mounds of earth thrown up 
in terraces on stone piers; wells, reservoirs, and aqueducts, 
used doubtless in irrigating the gardens ; ponderous masses of 
black basaltic rock, to represent mountain scenery, which must 
have been floated down the river from the hills of Armenia, 
together with inscriptions and numerous other articles, proving 
beyond doubt that this was the imperial palace of Babylon's 
greatest king. 

Among the many interesting discoveries made here were the 
dens where the wild beasts were kept, and a sculptured colossal 
lion in basalt, about thirteen feet long and ten high, standing 
over a prostrate man, supposed to represent Daniel in the lions' 
den. There is a band around the jaws of the lion like a muz- 
zle, indicating, perhaps, that the angel " shut the lion's mouth." 1 
And in the mound of Birs-JSTimrud, the supposed site of the 
Tower of Babel, Mr. Rassam found the remains of several 
richly decorated chambers. The painting was on plastered 
walls and enameled bricks of beautiful design. ( This able 
explorer also discovered the palace and banqueting hall of Bel- 
shazzar, the roof of which was Indian blackwood, supported by 

1 Daniel vi, 22. 



FULFILLMENT OF PEOPHECY. 



417 



Mosaic columns and pillars of enameled bricks. This rich 
hall was probably the same in which the king gave the great 
feast to his thousand lords, and saw the mysterious writing on 
the wall, the night he was slain, 1 B. C. 539. It has been 
asserted that no such king ever reigned at Babylon, his name 
not appearing in profane history ; but tablets have lately been 
found here bearing the identical name of "Belshazzer, king 
of the Chaldseans." 

This was Babylon's last king. The Medes under Cyrus, 
after a two years' siege, that night entered the city. It was 
afterward taken by Alexander, who removed the seat of em- 
pire to Seleucia. "And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the 
beauty of the Chaldees' excellency," passed forever away. 
And according to Isaiah's prediction, " It shall never be inhab- 
ited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation ; 
neither shall the Arabian pitch his tent there ; neither shall 
the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the 
desert shall lie there ; and their houses shall be full of doleful 
creatures ; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance 
there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their 
desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces." 2 

What Layard, Kassam, and Smith have done for Nineveh 
and Babylon, General Cesnola has done for Cyprus, the 
Chittim of Scripture. He has identified eight ancient cities, 
explored fifteen temples and over sixty thousand tombs ; and 
has found in these tombs and temples twenty thousand vases, 
busts, and statues in marble and terra-cotta; three thousand 
seven hundred and nineteen glass vases and bottles ; sixteen 
hundred articles in gold, silver, and bronze, some of beautiful 
workmanship; two solid gold armlets, weighing two pounds 

1 Daniel v, 30. 2 Isaiah xiii, 19-22. 

27 



418 



BIBLE LANDS. 



each, belonging to the king of Paphos ; a great variety ol 
rings, necklaces, and bracelets, some like serpents, others with 
the head of Medusa. He also found the name of the procon- 
sul, Paulus, probably Sergius Paulus, one of Paul's converts, 
and governor of Cyprus at the time of the apostle's visit. 1 

This island was first settled by the Phoenicians, afterward 
held successively by the Assyrians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, 
and Turks, and is now an English colony, having lately been 
ceded to Great Britain by the Sultan of Turkey. 

Other explorations have been made at Sus, or Susa, the 
Shushan of Scripture and royal residence of the Persian kings, 
situated on the river Eulgeus, about one hundred and twenty 
miles north of the Persian Gulf. General Williams and Mr. 
Loftus, in their excavations on the site of this old capital of 
ancient Elam, found the citadel and other extensive remains, 
among them the supposed palace of Ahasuerus, the Xerxes of 
history. This ruin stands on a raised platform of sun-dried 
bricks, covering sixty acres and seventy feet high. The walls, 
being of sunburnt brick, have all crumbled to dust, but the 
bases of seventy-two richly-carved pillars, together with many 
other pieces of sculpture, have been recovered. 

The palace was a pavilion very similar to that at Persepolis, 
consisting of a grand central hall or inner court, two hundred 
feet square, paved with colored marble, the roof of which was 
supported by thirty-six beautiful marble columns over sixty 
feet high. This hall was inclosed on three sides by wide colon- 
nades or porches, in which Ahasuerus gave his public recep- 
tions. The "inner court" was where he held his private 
audiences, and probably where Queen Esther went "in unto 
the king," to intercede for her people. 2 The great feast was 

1 Acts xiii, 7. 2 Esther iv, 16. 



OTHER IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES. 



419 



given " in the gardens of the king's palace," or the courts sur- 
rounding the palace. " The king's gate," where Mordecai sat, 
was a hall one hundred feet square that stood about two hun- 
dred feet in front of the main entrance. 

The city is now entirely deserted, save by lions, wolves, 
jackals, and other wild beasts, which find here a safe hiding- 
place, and hold their nightly carnivals in the courts of the 
renowned king who " reigned from India even unto Ethiopia," 
and commanded the largest army ever marshaled on earth. 
The reputed tombs of Daniel, Esther, and Mordecai are still 
pointed out near this the scene of their labors and death. 

Equally important discoveries are being made in Palestine. 
In a former chapter we gave an account of the finding of the 
"King's Highway," over which the Israelites, after passing 
the wilderness, entered Canaan. It is a paved road, with side 
walls, and can easily be traced from " the city that stood in the 
midst of the river," at the " fords of Arnon," through Aroer 
to Heshbon and E"ebo. Dibon, once the capital of Moab, and 
where the celebrated Mesha stone was found, was situated on 
this highway, and just now is the center of considerable inter- 
est from reports that other similar stones have been discovered 
near there, during the last year. It is also in this neighborhood 
that the unique Moabite pottery is found, about which there 
has been such a sharp controversy among antiquarians. Per- 
sonally, we have no doubt concerning the genuineness of these 
articles, but are not disposed to discuss the question here. The 
savants of Europe are at work upon the inscriptions, and the 
result of their investigations will shortly be made known. 
We, however, are fully satisfied from what has already been 
deciphered, that the discovery will shed much additional light 
upon many obscure portions of Old Testament history. 



420 



BIBLE LANDS. 



The collection thus far made consists of about fifteen thou- 
sand kiln-burnt urns, idols, vases, tablets, and other articles, many 
of them small images and coins ; and, what is remarkable, no 
two are alike, except in this one particular, they all have seven 
indentations upon them, symbolical of something mysterious. 

Generally they are rudely made, and some of them indecent, 
but this was peculiar to the worship of Peor, the favorite god- 
dess of the Moabites. Perhaps one thousand of the larger 




YXW^ov^A-wi^Y 



MOABITE VASE, WITH INSCRIPTION. 

articles bear inscriptions in Greek or Phoenician characters. 
These characters appear to be divided into four or more sys- 
tems, belonging to as many ages and dialects. In addition to the 
Greek alphabet there are several irregular letters, the meaning 
of which has not yet been determined. About one third of the 
characters are uniform in all the systems, and identical with 
those on the famous Moabite stone. 



THE LEVITICAL CITIES. 



421 



We have before us, belonging to tins collection, an nrn six- 
teen and a half inches high, without the base, which has been 
broken off, and seven and a half inches in diameter, found in a 
cave near Heshbon, not far from Beth-Peor. It appears, so far 
as we are capable of judging, to have been a votive offering, 
probably filled with wine or oil, and presented to the god Taad 
— corresponding to the Egyptian Thoth — the god of letters, by 
a person named Hasak or Hezekiah, with the prayer that Taad 
would remember and bless him, and all the gods protect 
him. It has on it sixty raised characters, about two inches 
long, arranged in five lines extending entirely round the 
vase. 1 

Abu Shusheh, about four miles south-east of Eamleh, has 
lately been identified as the ancient Levitical city of Gezer, re- 
taken from the Philistines by Pharaoh, King of Egypt, and 
given to his daughter, Solomon's wife. The boundaries of the 
forty-eight cities set apart for the sons of Levi have long been 
a subject of controversy. Last summer, in visiting this place, 
my attention was called to two large stones with inscriptions 
upon them in old Hebrew and Greek characters; the letters 
were about nine inches long, and deeply cut in the horizontal 
face of the native limestone rock where it cropped out of the 
ground. According to Mr. Clermont-Ganneau, and other 
archaeologists, the inscriptions read : " The limits, or boundary, 
of Gezer," and these old land-marks were no doubt intended 
to define the outer boundary of the city suburbs. 

It is to be regretted that the stones are no longer in their 
original position, the Turkish authorities having removed them 
to Constantinople. 

This discovery will go far toward fixing the standard of the 

1 This rase is now in the "Metropolitan Museum of Art, Xew York. 



422 



BIBLE LAjSTDS. 




OLD HEBREW INSCRIPTIONS. 



Jewish cubit, and in determining the shape and extent of the 
suburbs of the Levitical cities. 

The cities themselves being: among those taken from the 
former occupants of the country, were more than likely of dif- 
ferent dimensions, no two, perhaps, alike. Some may have 
been square, others round. The limit of the inner suburb was 
one thousand cubits from the wall "round about;" this may 
have been circular. The outer precincts were two thousand 
cubits beyond the inner, east, west, north, and south, or, accord- 



THE LEYTTTCAL CITIES. 



423 



ing to the Hebrew text, " to the east corner two thousand cu- 
bits." 1 So the boundary of the outlying fields could not have 
been circular, but angular. The suburbs did not measure three 
thousand cubits in all directions ; only the angles at the four 
cardinal points, the sides being diagonal. The first thousand 




PLAN OF LETITICAL CITIES. 



cubits were to be measured " from the wall of the city," not 
from the center of it, the city being " in the midst." 

A discovery of some interest has also been made at Gaza, in 
the old mosque of that city, which was once a Jewish syna- 

1 Numbers xxxv, 3-4. 



424 



BIBLE LAXDS. 



gogue. On one of the marble columns of this mosque is a 
beautifully executed model of the golden candlestick of the 
Temple. It resembles very much the one on the arch of Titus 
at Eome ; only this one is surrounded with a wreath, as if 
trimmed for some festive occasion, perhaps the feast of taber- 
nacles. It has the seven branches with candles represented as 
burning in the sockets. The knife of sacrifice hangs from one 
of the branches, and some other instrument from another branch 
on the opposite side. The name of Eabbi Hanna, son of Yo- 
seph — John, the son of Joseph — in old Hebrew, is inscribed 
below on the same column. 

A few months since, a peasant man found near Ekron, five 
miles south-west of Eamleh, on the great maritime Elain of 
Bhilistia, a stone seal about one inch square on the face, bearing 
a peculiar device, and which I purchased for a trifle, not consid- 
ering it of any great value. Since then many antiquarians, to 
whom impressions were sent, have pronounced the device an 
image of Beelzebub, the great Fly god, and the only one ever 
discovered. He is represented as a man of the Assyrian type, 
with short beard and four wings. In his hands he holds two 
apes or monkeys, denoting, perhaps, his office as "Brince of 
devils," apes being sometimes translated devils in the Script- 
ures. 1 Beelzebub was the principal deity of the Bhilistines, 
and is frequently referred to in the Js T ew Testament. We are 
also informed that when Ahaziah, King of Israel, fell from his 
palace window in Samaria and was fatally injured, he sent to 
this god at Ekron, to inquire whether he should recover or 
die. "We, however, have never before been able to form a cor- 
rect idea of the figure of this celebrated deity. The name 
signifies Fly-god, or destroyer of flies, a generic term applicable 

1 Deuteronomy xxxii, 17. 



IMAGE OF BEELZEBUB. 425 

to all winged insects, as flies, gnats, locusts, mosquitoes, and 
the like, which have always been the plague of the Orient. 

It has generally been supposed that this god was worshiped 
under the symbol of a fly, others argued for the beetle or scara- 
beus ; but Beelzebub, you will observe, Avas an oracular divinity, 
so must have been represented in the human form, as man is 
the only creature endowed with the gift of speech. 

And may not this deity answer to " the prince of the power 
of the air," referred to by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Ephe- 
sians 1 1 Beelzebub was regarded as the god of all the insects 




BEELZEBUB. - 



that fly in the air, and the ignorant Philistines in their worship 
sought to secure his favor under the impression that he only 
could protect them from the fearful plague of flies, locusts, and 
grasshoppers, so common in the East : the visitation of which 
was generally followed by famine and pestilence, translated in 
some instances demon or destroyer in the Scriptures. This 
view appears more rational than to suppose the air we breathe 
to be swarming with evil spirits 

1 Ephesians ii, 2 ; Mark iii, 22. 

- This seal is still in possession of the author, who has refused a large sum 
offered for it by the British Museum, it being the only image of Beelzebub thus 
far discovered. It was probably used for sealing the oracles of this god. 



426 



BIBLE LANDS. 



An order was recently issned by the Sultan for removing the 
old walls, and dismantling the fortifications of Jaffa. In cut- 
ting a gate through a water battery at an angle of the sea wall, 
built by Vespasian, and directly in front of the reputed house 
of Simon the tanner, the workmen came upon three oval-shaped 
tanners' vats, hewn out of the natural rock, and lined with 
Roman cement, down very near the sea, and similar in every 
respect to those in use eighteen centuries ago. There is also 
a freshwater spring flowing from the cliff close by, long known 
as the Tanners' Spring. 

This discovery, at least, proves that the house on the rocky 
bluff above, from which steps lead down to the vats, must 
have belonged to some tanner ; and, as it is not likely more than 
one of that trade would be living in so small a place as Jaffa, 
this, in all probability, is the identical spot where the house of 
Simon stood, with whom Peter was sojourning when he saw 
his wonderful vision, and received the servants of Cornelius, 
who came all the way from Csesarea to have the apostle visit 
their master in that city. A cedar beam was also found under 
a section of the wall, deeply imbedded in the sand, showing 
that this was probably the very port where Solomon landed the 
timber and marble for his gorgeous temple on Moriah. 

Another interesting discovery has just been made by the Pal- 
estine Exploration Society. It will be remembered, that after 
the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, the city was rebuilt by 
order of the Emperor Hadrian, and the name changed to iElia 
Capitolina, in honor of himself. This emperor also, to com- 
memorate his victory over the Jews and the overthrow of their 
religion erected a grand temple on Blount Moriah, which he 
dedicated to Jupiter, placing therein a beautiful marble statue 
of himself. 



HEAD OF THE EMPEROR HADRIAN. 



427 



Lately a poor peasant, digging among the rubbish in the old 
road-bed, just outside the Damascus gate, near the Tomb of the 
Kings, came upon what appears to be the head of this celebrated 
statue. The physiognomy of Hadrian is striking, and there is 
little difficulty in identifying his statue by the rather low fore- 
head, Roman nose, crisp beard, curved eyelids, stern look, and 
curled mustache, all of which are here clearly defined. M. 
Clermont-Ganneau. and other archaeologists, consider this the 




Hadrian's head 

head of the identical statue of the great emperor, which origin- 
ally stood in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, erected on the 
site of the once magnificent temple of Solomon. 

The statue had been broken into fragments, its head used as 
a common paving-stone, and when found was lying in the 
highway, face downward, where for centuries it had been 



428 



BIBLE LANDS. 



trampled in the dust by almost every donkey, camel, and pil- 
grim that entered the gates of Zion ! 

How strangely God brings to naught the designs of wicked 
men ! This emperor sought to obliterate all knowledge of the 
true God and his worship ; blotted out the very name of the 
holy city ; piled up mountains of earth over the tomb of Christ ; 
built pagan temples on Calvary and Moriah, and set up his own 
image in the most sacred place to receive the homage due only 
to God. All which seems to have transpired but yesterday in 
the history of our race. To-day, in clearing away the ruins 
of the past, we find the mutilated head of the conqueror of 
the Jews, with the laurel and eagle still upon his brow, and 
the imperial expression in his eye, but his power and glory 
forever gone. To-day Hadrian only lives in history, his beau- 
tiful tomb in Rome is the Castle of St. Angelo ; his marble 
sarcophagus is the baptismal font in St. Peter's, and Jupiter, 
his favorite deity, is without a temple, priest, or worshiper, on 
the face of the whole earth; while, on the other hand, for 
every fragment of Jehovah's temple demolished by this em- 
peror, a Christian church has sprung up somewhere in the 
earth, and to-day millions of devout hearts crowd the courts 
of the Lord's house in every land, to join in doxologies of 
praise to "Him whose dominion is universal, and of whose 
kingdom there shall be no end." 

These, and other discoveries which are almost daily made in 
the sites of cities and places not hitherto identified, help very 
much to settle long-disputed points, go far toward establishing 
the inspired record, and add greatly to the interest taken in 
biblical researches. 



CHAPTER IX. 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 

Impressions on leaving Jerusalem — Old City of Damascus — Turkish Bath — Great 
Mosque — Baalbec by Moonlight — Cedars of Lebanon — Ruins of Ephesus — 
Temple of Diana — Classic Athens — Vestiges of Ancient Greece — Home again. 

IE" leaving Jerusalem, after a residence of four years, we ex- 
perienced the saddest feelings. It was like parting with 
some long-cherished friend, and painful to tear ourselves away. 
Our heads were continually turning and looking back to catch, 
if possible, another and still another view of the Holy City. 
Even when miles away, we found ourselves standing up in our 
stirrups, stretching our necks and straining our eyes in hopes of 
getting yet another glimpse. And when, near Bethel, we saw 
for the last time the " Dome of the Rock " on the summit of 
Moriah, it was like taking a last look of the old homestead or 
of a beloved parent. Crossing the Jordan at Damieh, and tak- 
ing on our route Jerash, Bozrah, Edrei, and other famous stone 
cities of Bashan and the Hauran, after many adventures, but 
nothing serious, we safely reached the old city of Damascus. 

The history of this city dates back very near the Flood. It- 
is supposed, by some, to cover the site of the Garden of Eden, 
and to have been founded by Uz, the great-grandson of JSToah. 
It must have been a place of importance in the days of Abra- 
ham, whose steward was " Eliezer of Damascus," and according 
to Josephus, Abraham himself at one time was a reigning 
prince of this city. It certainly is among the oldest cities on 
our globe, and, what is remarkable, has flourished under every 



432 



EIBLE LANDS. 



dynasty, and is still the largest city in Syria. Beautifully situ- 
ated on the banks of the Abana and Pharpar rivers, in the 
midst of luxuriant gardens, it may very appropriately be called 
" the pearl of the East." 

Our first stroll was through the crooked " street called 
Straight," by the house of Judas, and Ananias, and out of the 
eastern gate, where we were shown the traditional site of 




Naaman's house, and where Paul was let down over the wall. 
But to me, the most interesting object was the Great Mosque, 
eleven hundred feet long and eight hundred wide — the largest 
house of worship in the world, except the noble sanctuary at 
Jerusalem, originally a pagan temple, then a Christian church 
dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and said to contain his head 
in a casket of gold — now a Mohammedan mosque. Over one 



TURKISH BATH. 



433 



of the grand entrances to this temple, now closed, may still be 
seen the very singular Greek inscription, " Thy kingdom, O 
Christ, is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth 
throughout all generations." This prophetic inscription has 
stood here since the earliest ages of Christianity, and over the 
jDortals of Islamism for these twelve hundred years. 

lS~ever having taken a Turkish bath, several of us one morning 
concluded to test this Oriental luxury. On entering the estab- 
lishment, we were met by two turbaned Turks evaporated into 




EAST GATE, DAMASCUS. 



mere skin and bones, and conducted to an elevated platform 
where we were requested to undress. From here we were 
taken from apartment to apartment, each one hotter and hot- 
ter, until respiration became difficult, and a peculiar sensation 
of suffocation came over me. Very soon we were ushered into 
a small oven-shaped room, feeling hot enough to roast a man, 
and stretched out on its heated marble floor, the perspiration 
oozing profusely from every pore, as if the whole body were 

dissolving. After this we were drenched, at intervals, with 
28 



434 



BIBLE LANDS. 



pails of hot water thrown over our shoulders, the steam filling 
the room and almost par-boiling us. Next, in came a gaum, 
raw-boned Arab, looking as if all commiseration had been 
stewed out of him, and with brush and soap-suds began scrub- 
bing our tender, half-cooked bodies at a fearful rate, fairly 
taking the flesh from our bones. This process of steaming, 
scraping, scrubbing, was kept up for perhaps half an hour ; 
when, blind from the soap in our eyes, faint from the exces- 
sive heat, sore from the unmerciful scouring, and provoked 
at our own folly in submitting to such vile treatment, we 
were taken into another apartment and plunged into a bath 
up to our chins, hotter if possible, than any thing we had 
yet experienced. Never did mortals suffer more in the same 
length of time than we poor wretches in that seething caldron. 
Taken from this vat, we were wrapped in winding sheets and 
laid out on marble slabs to cool, as if, sure enough, they 
intended us for immediate burial ; and really, if this process 
had continued much longer, we would soon have been tit sub- 
jects for the tomb. Finally, after more rubbing, rolling, and 
thumping, we were conducted back to the room we first en- 
tered, stretched out on Turkish divans, regaled with Turkish 
coffee, fumigated with Turkish tobacco until our eyes began to 
swim as in some dreamy state, from which we were soon 
aroused by our sharpened appetites clamoring for something- 
more substantial than smoke and vapor. So off we hastened to 
our tents, reaching them just in time for a good breakfast, 
thoroughly satisfied and disgusted with the Turkish bath. 

About midway between this and Beirut, on the high plain 
between the two ranges of the Lebanons, are the ruins of Baal- 
bec, in some respects the sublimest works ever executed by the 
genius of man. Nothing in Greece, Rome, or Egypt can cum- 



RUINS OF BAALBEC. 



437 



pare Avith thein. Here, on a vast platform nine hundred feet 
long and five hundred wide, standing thirty feet above the 
plain, and supported by a wall of immense stones, the largest 
sixty-nine feet long, fifteen feet thick, and seventeen feet wide, 
are the remains of two magnificent temples, one dedicated to 
Baal, and the other to Jupiter, the most perfect ruins in the 
world — single columns seventy-five feet .high and twenty-one 
feet in circumference, surmounted by an entablature fifteen 
feet high, all of exquisite workmanship. The eastern door-way 
to the temple of Jupiter is forty-two feet high in the clear, and 
twenty-one feet wide, with massive pilasters richly carved. 
The key-stone of this portal weighs sixty tons, and on it is 
sculptured the symbol of Jupiter, power and dominion — an 
eagle soaring among the stars, grasping in his talons the thun- 
derbolts of Jove. The eagle on the standard of our country 
was taken from this Eoman symbol, and I suppose but for 
this sculpture over the entrance to the temple of Jupiter at 
Baalbec we never would have had any spread-eagle speeches 
in America. Our tents were pitched in the very center of this 
grand ruin, the history of which is lost in the misty past, and 
we were permitted to eat and sleep and dream in this gorgeous 
temple of the sun. The night was clear and warm, and we 
enjoyed the rare privilege of seeing Baalbec by moonlight. 
The effect was very fine ; our own shadows seemed to people 
anew the place, and as we wandered from temple to temple 
over broken columns and crumbling walls, we could almost 
fancy we saw the old fire-worshipers in their midnight orgies 
again. 

In visiting the cedars of Lebanon from Baalbec, we crossed 
the broad rich plain of Buka'a, nearly four thousand feet above 
the ocean level, and in two hours began ascending the lower 



438 



BIBLE LANDS. 




CEDARS OF LEBANON. 



spurs of the mountain, and in two hours more were at 'Ain 
'Ata, where we encamped for the night. After pitching our 
tents we retired early, hoping to enjoy a comfortable night's 
rest ; but about midnight a furious hurricane suddenly struck 
our camp, blowing down our tents and leaving us exposed to 
the peltings of the pitiless storm. The next morning, half 
frozen, we continued our journey, and after three hours' hard 



CEDAES OF LEBANON. 



439 



climbing by a rocky, tortuous path over fields of snow and the 
highest ranges of Lebanon, when near the summit we encoun- 
tered another fearful storm of wind, rain and hail. The thun- 
der shook the very mountain beneath us, bringing down great 
avalanches across our path. The lightnings shot forth their 
fiery fangs like enormous serpents. The rain fell in torrents. 
Our horses refused to face the storm, and all we could do was 
to turn our backs to the blast and wait until it had spent its 
fury. Cold, wet, hungry, almost dead, we reached the famous 
cedars, so celebrated in sacred history, about nightfall, greatly 
enjoying the dinner and warm fire that awaited our arrival. 

This grove covers a knoll six thousand three hundred feet 
above the sea, at the head of the Kadisha River, on the verge 
of perpetual snow ; thus crowning with glory the summit of 
the vegetable world ! There are not more than four hundred 
trees in this collection, mostly small, the twelve largest, known 
as the twelve patriarchs, are from thirty to forty feet in circum- 
ference, and about one hundred feet high. Other groves have 
recently been discovered to the north and south, one back of 
Sidon, very beautiful ; and no doubt the whole mountain, at 
one time, was covered with these goodly trees. But Hiram's 
thirty thousand men, and the ravages of three thousand years, 
have made sad havoc among them, and the wonder is that any 
remain to this day. The wood is of a close-grained, firm text- 
ure, very durable, and in appearance resembles our white-pine. 
Anciently it was used only by royalty and for religious pur- 
poses. The great image of Diana, at Ephesus, and the oldest 
idol in Egypt, were of cedar. The palace of King David 
was "a house of cedar," and the wood-work of the grand 
temples of Solomon, Apollo, and Diana, were of the same 
material. 



440 



BIBLE LANDS. 



These trees are called in the Scriptures, " The trees of the 
Lord, . . . which he hath planted," 1 and they belong exclu- 
sively to Lebanon — are indigenous to no other part of the 
world. " No other tree was like unto them for beauty." And 




RIVER OF ADONIS. 



in the poetic language of Ezekiel, " All the trees of , Eden, that 
were in the garden of God, envied" them. 2 Though some- 
what shattered with age, they still spread wide their fragrant 

1 Psalm civ, 16. 2 Ezekiel xxxi, 9. 



RIVER OF ADONIS. 



441 



branches, and ran out their roots far and deep, taking hold of 
the very foundation of the mountain, so that the storms of 
many centuries have failed to destroy them : beautifully sym- 
bolizing the Ghristian rooted and grounded in Christ, whom 
no storm can uproot. " The righteous shall nourish like the 
palm-tree ; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon." 1 

The solitude of this forest is oppressive ; and the somber 
shade cast by the evergreen foliage, the sighing of the winds 
through the gnarled branches, and the associations awakened 




NATURAL BRIDGE. 



by the venerable appearance of these trees, made us feel more 
solemn than joyous ; and after a few hours' rest we turned our 
faces westward, first down the valley of the Kadisha, then over 
a succession of rocky ridges, through the grandest scenery, 
but over the roughest roads, ever traveled by horsemen. 

Passing the river Adonis, near the fabled scene of that 
young man's death and frequent interviews with Yenns — a 
wild, picturesque gorge, with numerous fountains and water- 

1 Psalm xcii, 12. 



442 BIBLE LANDS. 

falls — fit temple for Cupid — and crossing a deep chasm on a 
natural bridge, one hundred and sixty-three feet long, eighty 
feet high, by about one hundred and twenty wide — a most 
romantic spot, and a wonderful freak of nature, we, on the 
second day, began the ascent of another mountain range 
near the coast, and as we were wondering in our own minds 
whether we should ever reach its craggy summit, lo, all at once 
the sea, the blue, tideless Mediterranean Sea, burst upon our 




TOMB OF KINGSLEY. 



vision! and in a few hours we were in Beirut, the end of our 
journey on horseback, feeling very thankful for our safe pas- 
sage of the Lebanons. 

In the Prussian Cemetery, close by the road-side, as you 
enter Beirut, a gray granite obelisk marks the tomb of the 
lamented Bishop Kingsley, who died in this city April 6, 1870, 
on his tour round the world. The monument was shipped 
from New York during the author's residence in Palestine, and 



EPHESUS. 



443 



it became his painful, yet pleasing, duty, to superintend the 
erection of this memorial over the grave of a brother minister. 

Three days from Beirut brought us, by steamer, to Smyrna, 
the largest city in Asia Minor, and the seat of one of the " seven 
Churches," the one of which the venerable Polycarp was bishop, 
and where he suffered martyrdom. A cypress-tree on the hill 
back of the city is supposed to mark the spot where this good 
man was burned at the stake. 

In two hours by rail from Smyrna we were at Ephesus, 
once the principal city in Ionia, and for centuries the metropo- 
lis of "Western Asia. Among the splendid edifices for which 
this city was celebrated was the magnificent temple of Diana, 
said to have been two hundred and twenty years in building. 
Its roof was of cedar, supported by one hundred and twenty- 
seven columns sixty feet high, each a single shaft of Parian 
marble, fluted and beautifully colored. This temple was one 
of the seven wonders of the world, and contained the famous 
statue of the goddess Diana, which was supposed by the 
credulous people to have fallen from heaven, and " whom all 
Asia and the world worshiped." 1 The site of this grand 
temple, which for centuries was unknown — some persons even 
questioning whether it ever existed — has recently been discov- 
ered after a search of eight years, by Dr. Wood, of the British 
Museum, at the end of the sacred way, a colonnade of gorgeous 
tombs, and about one mile from the Magnesia gate. ]STo young 
mother ever rejoiced more over her first-born than did the 
-doctor over the recovery of this long-buried temple. 

The earthquake that destroyed Smyrna, in 178 A. D., greatly 
injured Ephesus, by filling up the harbor and creating a pes- 
tilential morass of mud and rushes over the rich valley of the 

1 Acts xix, 27. 



444 



BIBLE LANDS. 



Cajster. So that now most of the ruins are covered with, 
rubbish and a rank growth of vegetation, no one living 
on the site of this once populous city. All is silent as the 
grave. ' 

Paul visited Ephesus in the year 54, and the large the- 
ater, where he " fought with beasts," 1 and stirred up the 
great tumult on that occasion, is still standing on the side 
of Mount Prion. It is partly cut out of the mountain, ellip- 




AMPHITHEATER AT EPHESUS. 



tical in form, being six hundred and sixty feet in its greatest 
diameter, and capable of seating an audience of fifty-six thou- 
sand spectators. Timothy was the first bishop of the Church 
here, one of the seven in Asia, and, with Luke, is supposed 
to be buried here ; John, the " beloved disciple," also preached, 
and, it is said, died and was buried here after his return from 
Patmos. The remains of his old church, and his tomb back 

1 1 Corinthians xv, 32. 



ATHENS. 



445 



of the altar, are still pointed out. The buildings along the 
quay are in good preservation, and the steps leading down to 
the water as firm as when Paul with Priscilla and Aquila 
landed here eighteen hundred and twenty-five years ago. It 
was very solemn to wander among the ruins of this desolate 
city, to see the stork building her nest on the stately columns, 
to stand in the church where, perhaps, John the beloved, and 
Paul, and Timothy, and Luke often preached a pure gospel 
io assembled multitudes, and to think that the Epistle to the 




STORK. 



Ephesians, now read throughout Christendom, has no one to 
Tead it in Ephesus ! She lost her first love, and her candle- 
stick was removed forever. 

It was from Ephesus we derived the word Evangelist. When 
about to build this city, there was a great scarcity of good 
building material. A shepherd by the name of Pixodorus, 
feeding his flock on the neighboring hills, discovered a quarry 
of fine marble, bringing back a specimen. He was received 
with great joy ; his name was changed to Evangelus, that is, 
bearer of glad tidings, and divine honors were paid him. Thus 



446 



BIBLE LANDS. 



we see how words full of sacred import are derived often from 
pagan legends. 

Returning to Smyrna, we took the steamer for Greece, and 
after touching at Patmos, Rhodes, Scio, and other beautiful 
islands in the JEgean Sea, landed at Athens, so renowned in 
classic history, for centuries the great seat of learning, the cen- 
ter of civilization, and the capital of the first Republic in our 
world's history, 1068 B. C. Just before entering the harbor 
of Piraeus, the port of Athens, we passed over the scene of the 
celebrated naval engagement of Salamis, and could distinctly 
see from our vessel's deck the hill on which Xerxes erected 
his silver throne, from which he witnessed the destruction of 
his vast fleet, and with it all his ambitious aims of conquest in 
Europe. Close by the light-house, as we entered the bay, a 
rock-hewn tomb, over which the sea was breaking, was pointed 
out as the humble grave of Themistocles, the hero of Salamis. 

During our visit to this city I have been living in the past — 
living my life over again — living amid the stirring scenes of 
two thousand years ago. How inspiring to stand amid the 
ruins of this classic city, and on the very rock where the great 
apostle first expounded the doctrines of " Christ and the resur- 
rection " to the learned Areopagites ! 

It is hard for me to realize that I am in Athens, but far 
more difficult to believe what I really see. That the mountains 
that tower above the plain are Hymettus, and Lycabettus, and 
Pentelicus ; that the temple that crowns, like some airy castle, 
the Acropolis, is the unrivaled Parthenon of Phidias, the 
votive offering of the gods to Minerva, or Athene, erected four 
hundred and forty-eight years before Christ ; that the few tot- 
tering, broken columns on the plain are the last of one hundred 
and twenty-six that once composed the gorgeous temple of 



ATHENS. 



447 



Jupiter Olympus ; that just here, where I write, on the hill of 
Colonus, is where Sophocles was born, and the celebrated tem- 
ple of Neptune once stood — I say to realize all this, and much 
more, is to roll the ages back and live through twenty centuries 
in a day. 

We were especially interested in visiting the cemetery of an- 
cient Athens, dating back to 400 B. C, and only recently dis- 
covered. Some of the monuments were very fine and sugges- 




MARS' HILL 



tive. There was nothing gloomy in the expression of the 
dying, but rather a hopeful look ; and they seemed to part 
with their friends in expectation of another meeting in the 
great hereafter. They were generally attired as if about start- 
ing on a journey, some shaking hands, others distributing me- 
mentos to loved ones before their departure. On one tomb a 
young lady was taking a last look of herself in a metallic mir- 
ror — the ruling passion strong in death. On another, Charon 



448 



BIBLE LANDS. 



was represented waiting with his boat to take the deceased 
over the river Styx, but refused to start until the price de- 
manded was paid, and was holding out his hand for the money. 
Some, who had not the required amount, were sitting weeping 
on the shore as if their hearts would break, because they could 
not enter the spirit land beyond. They all carried lamps with 
them to light up the dark valley they were entering. How 
we should rejoice that Christ has hung up the lamp of life in 
this dismal region of death, and that all may now, through his 
merits, pass safely to a state of blessedness beyond! 

After spending a delightful week rummaging amid the ves- 
tiges of this ancient metropolis of Greece, enjoying the soft 
sunshine and dreamy quietude of Attica's loveliest month — vis- 
iting the monuments of art and power on the Acropolis, among 
the grandest in the world — standing on Mars' Hill, so sacred 
in its associations to the Christian, and on the Pnyx, w T here 
Demosthenes and Pericles often swayed the populace by their 
eloquence ; strolling through the deserted courts of the Par- 
thenon, once honored with the presence of such men as Solon, 
Pythagoras, Socrates, and Zeno ; and over the site of the Aca- 
demic groves, where Plato and Aristotle taught their disciples, 
we turned our faces homeward, and bade farewell forever to 
heroic, classic Greece. 

As the echoes of the evening guns on the men-of-war in the 
bay of Piraeus reverberated along the shore, and the nags 
dropped, tinged with the golden hues of a glorious sunset, we 
sailed out of the port of Athens on our way to America and 
home. 



GENERAL INDEX. 



PAGK 

Aaron's Tomb, Mount Hor 106, 311 

Abraham goes down to Egypt 23 

Abraham's offering of Isaac 155 

Abarim Mountains 348 

Aboo Simbel, Kock-hewn Temple.. . 88 

Achor, Valley of 281 

Acre, Ancient Accho 237 

Adonis, Eiver of 441 

Adullam, Cave of 205-203 

Adummim, Going up to 279 

Ad wan Arabs, Ali Diab 350 

Agrippa's Wall 168 

Ahab on Mount Carmei 252 

Ahasuerus, Xerxes of History 418 

Akabah, Gulf of 101 

Alexander the Great 33 

Alexandria, Ancient City 33 

Alexandria, Modern City 36 

American Eagle 43V 

Amos, the Prophet 210 

Amphitheater, Ephesus 444 

Anakim, Powerful Pace 213, 227 

Apis, Incarnation of Osiris 57 

Apples of Sodom 296 

Aqueducts of Solomon 203 

Arabs Eating 352 

Arab Tribes East of Jordan. 316, 325, 36S 

Arak el Emir 356 

Aram-Naharim 401 

Aram, Syria 401 

Arch, Ecce Homo 134 

Arch, Found in Egypt 73 

Argob, the Lejah 394 

Arguments in Support of Bible. . . . 139 

Ark of the Covenant , 154 

Arminian and Greek Churches 117 

29 



PAGE 

Ashdod, Taken by Egyptians 229 

Askelon, Syrian Venus 228 

Asshur, Son of Shem 404 

Assouan, Frontier of Egypt 81 

Assyrian Discoveries 404 

Athens, Description of. 446 

Athlit, Grand Ruins 234 

Baalbec, Grand Ruins 434 

Baalbec, Great Stones 437 

Baal, High Places of 342 

Baal, Image of 386 

Baal, Priests Slaughtered 248 

Baal-Zephon 93 

Babel, Tower of, Birs-Nimrud 416 

Babylon, Capital of Chakkea. . .404, 415 

Backsheesh 37 

Bartimeus Receives his Sight 281 

Bashan, History of 367, 368 

Bedouins of the Ghor 296 

Beelzebub, Image of 425 

Beer-Sheba 221 

Beirut , 442 

Belka, Land beyond Jordan 317 

Belshazzar's Palace 416 

Belus River, Discovery of Glass.. . . 238 

Bethany, Home of Mary 133, 278 

Bethel, Curious Legend 256 

Bethel, House of God 255 

Bethel, Royal City of Jeroboam 258 

Bethlehem, Christmas Ceremonies.. 195 
Bethlehem, Church of Nativity . 193, 195 
Bethlehem, Grotto of St. Jerome. . . 196 

Bethlehem, Inn of 191, 194 

Beth-peor, Grave of Moses 346 

Beth-peor, Wady Musa 346 



450 



GENERAL INDEX. 



PAGE 

Bible Statements Confirmed 142 

Bible, First Translated 34 

Bible, On Egyptian Monuments. ... 24 

Bishop Gobat, of Jerusalem 116 

Black Obelisk 411 

Bloody Way 279 

Botta, French Consul, Mosul 408 

Bozrah, Ruins of 377 

Bozrah, Solemn Reflections 378 

Brick, Egyptian 73 

Bridge, Over the Jordan 364 

Bridge, Robinson's 151 

Burial, Mode of 175 

Burning Bush. . . „ 311 

Caesar ea Palestina 233 

Caesarea Philippi, Banias 272 

Caliph Mahmoud 47 

Calirrhoe, Hot Springs 330 

Camels of the Desert 96 

Canaan, Character of Country 113 

Canaan, Grandson of Noah Ill 

Canaanites, Settle Palestine . . .110, 225 

Cana of Galilee 262 

Capernaum, Khan Minyeh. 264 

Carmelite Monks 245 

Carmel, Mount 244 

Carob-tree, Locust and Husk 199 

Castle of Zion, Tower of David 175 

Cataracts of Nile 82 

Cedars of Lebanon 439 

Center of the World 183 

Cesnola, General, U. S. Consul 417 

Champollion, Egyptologist 29 

Cheops, Builder of Great Pyramid. . 45 

Cherith, Brook 281 

Christianity, Planted in Alexandria. 35 

Chronology, Harmonized 26 

Church of Holy Sepulcher 160 

Church of the Empress Helena 193 

Church of the Nativity 193 

City of the Great King 123 

Cleopatra's Needle 33 

Coenaculum, Last Supper 177 

Coins, Ancient Jewish 312 



PAuH 

Colossi, Amunoph III 7'> 

Constantine's Basilica 160, 165 

Consuls, Duties of 116 

Convent of Mar Elyas, Carmel 245 

Convent of St. Catherine 99 

Convent of St. John 197 

Crucifixion, Solemn Mockeries 185 

Cyprus, Island of 417 

Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem 166, 176 

Damascus Gate, Jerusalem 254 

Damascus, Great Mosque 432 

Damascus, Oldest City in the World 431 

Daniel, Tomb of 419 

David Cuts off Saul's Robe 209 

David in Cave of Adullam 205 

David, Tomb of 178 

Dead Sea, Great Depression 294 

Dead Sea, Remarkable Phenomenon 302 

Delilah, Betrays Samson 228 

Desert of Arabia 380 

Diana, Temple at Ephesus 443 

Dibon, Ancient Capital of Moab. . . . 339 

Dogs, Dogmatic 37 

Dome over Holy Sepulcher. . .170, 431 

Donkeys of Alexandria 37 

Dragon Cast out of Heaven 414 

Dromedary Riding 96, 271 

Druses, a Peculiar People 395 

Easter Festivities 183 

Ebenezer, Stones of Witness 311 

Ecce Homo, Arch 134 

Ed Deir, The Convent, Petra 196 

Edrei, Ancient Capital of Bashan. . . 396 

Egyptian Sculpture 24, 25, 58, 72 

Ekron, Worship of Beelzebub 228 

Elijah's Grotto, Mt. Carmel 246 

Elijah's Sacrifice, Site of 247 

Elisha at Dothan 262 

Elisha, Mocked by Children 257 

Elisha Plowing '. 334 

El Kuzneh, Petra 105 

Emmaus 123 

Enjredi, Wilderness of 309 



GENERAL INDEX. 



451 



PAGE 

Ephesus, Ruins of 443 

Er Rahah, Plain of 99 

Esdraelon, Plain of 247, 262 

Eshcol, Valley and Grapes 214 

Esther, Queen 418 

Ethiopia, Nubia 83 

Evangelist, Derivation of Name, . . . 445 
Exodus, Departure from Egypt. ... 90 

Exodus, Pharaoh of 54 

Ezion-Geber 101 

Feet-washing Ceremony 184 

First-born, Cut off 56 

Fishing in Wady Waleh 334 

Flint Knives 284 

Fountain of Elisha, Jericho 287 

Frederick Barbarossa, Red-Beard. . . 243 

Frescoes, Ancient 290 

Fulfillment of Prophecy. 89, 229, 243, 303 

Gadara 363 

Ganneau, M. Clermont 340 

Gates of Bronze, Nineveh 410 

Gate-way of Sik, Petra 105 

Gath, City of Goliath 236, 232 

Gaza, Samson's Death 227 

Geological Formation, Jordan Valley 302 

Gerizim and Ebal, Mounts 261 

German Colony, Haifa 235 

Gethsemane and Olivet 138, 278 

Giant Cities of Bashan 370 

. Giant Races 366 

Gibeah of Benjamin 255 

Gilead, Balm 364 

Gilead, Land of 350 

Gilgal, Plain of 283 

Golden Gate Temple 146 

Golgotha, Adam's Skull 168 

Granite Quarries of Syene 81 

Great Sea, Under Temple Platform. 147 

Gulf of Suez 91 

Hadrian, Emperor 164 

Hadrian, Head of 427 

Hadrian, Tomb of 428 



TAGK 



Haggai's Seal 154 

Hanging Gardens of Babylon 416 

Haran, City of Nahor 401 

Hattin, Battle of 263, 323 

Hauran, Journey Through 373 

Hebrews Making Brick, Egypt 25 

Hebron, Ancient Arba 213 

Helena, Empress 164, 193 

Heliopolis, Grand Temple 43 

Heliopolis, Obelisk 43 

Heliopolis, On of Scripture 42 

Hermon, Mount, Snow Storm 275 

Herod, the Great 178, 211, 289 

Herodias and Herod Antipas 327 

Herodium, Tomb of Herod 178, 354 

Heshbon, Fish Pools 319 

Hezekiah, King of Judah 409 

Hieroglyphics, Egyptian 28 

Hill Country of Judea 197 

Hippicus, Tower of 169 

Hiram, King of Tyre, Tomb 241 

Holy Family, Flight into Egypt 23 

Holy Fire, Wild Fanaticism 187 

Holy of Holies, Temple of Karnak.. 65 

Homeward Bound 431 

Hyksos or Shepherds 225 

Hyrcanus I, Robs David's Tomb. 178, 354 

Idols of the Egyptians 30 

Inscribed Cylinders, Assyrian 414 

Inscribed Rocks 100 

Inscribed Tablets of Deluge 412 

Inscriptions, Moabite 419 

Inscriptions, Old Hebrew 422 

Island of Philse, Nile S5 

Israel, Land of 110 

Jacob, at Bethel 255 

Jacob meets Rachel 403 

Jacob's Name Changed to Israel. . . 109 

Jacob Settles in Egypt 23 

Jacob, Well of 25S 

Jaffa, Ancient Joppa 119 

Jaffa, Difficulty of Landing 120 

Jaffa, Oldest Sea-port 11? 



452 



GENERAL INDEX. 



PAGE 



Jaffa, Population and History 120 

Jaffa, Up to Jerusalem 122 

JebelHauran 368 

Jebel Usdum, Mountain of Sodom . . 297 

Jephtha's Vow 352 

Jerash, Mahanaim 362 

Jericho, Down to 278 

Jericho, House of Zacchaeus 283 

Jericho, Singular Tradition. 288 

Jeroboam's Golden Calf 268 

Jerusalem a Buried City 128 

Jerusalem, City of David 123 

Jerusalem, First Impression 127 

Jerusalem, Great Antiquity 124 

Jerusalem, Present Population 116 

Jerusalem, Solemn Reflection 123 

Jewish Tombs 172 

Jews in Jerusalem 118 

Jezebel, Thrown to the Dogs 262 

Job, Character and Writings 391 

Job, Traditional Home 3S9 

John Baptist, Baptizes Christ.. 199, 284 

John Baptist, Birthplace 197 

John Baptist, Diet of 200 

John Baptist, Beheaded 327, 432 

John Baptist, Preaching 198 

Jonah's Tomb, Neby Yunus 40S 

Jordan, Pilgrims Bathing 284 

Jordan, Source of 272, 275, 2S2 

Joseph in Egypt 65 

Joseph, Tomb 258 

Jupiter Amon, Egyptian God 62 

Jupiter, Temple, Baalbec 437 

Kadesh-barnea 106, 222 

Karnak, Great Temple. . 61 

Karnak, Hall of Ancestors 65 

Karnak, Hall of Columns 64 

Kedron Valley 135 

Kerak, King, Sacrifices his Son. . . . 324 

Kerak, Kir-Hareseth of Bible 320 

Kerioth 381 

Khan Jubb Yusuff, Joseph 268 

Khan Minyeh, Capernaum 264 

Khan, Oriental Inn 194 



PAGE 

Khedive of Egypt 35, 39 

King's Highway 34S, 419 

Kirjath-Arba, Hebron 213 

Kishon River and Valley 238 

Knights of St. John 233, 238 

Knight Templars 159, 280 

Kunawat, Kenath of Bible 3S3 

Laban, the Syrian 401 

Lake Huleh, Waters of Heroin 268 

Land of Beulah 317 

Land of Ham 83 

Land of Israel, Under Solomon. . . 110 
Last Judgment, Egyptian Sculpture. S6 

Layard, Great Explorer 408 

Legends, Assyrian. 413 

Legends, Mohammedan. . .159, 288, 334 
Lehi, Hill of, Samson's Jaw-bone. . . 230 

Lejah, Trachomatis, Argob 394 

Levitical Cities, Plan of 422, 423 

Library, Alexandrian 35 

Lion's Den, Babylon 416 

Locusts and Wild Honey 199 

Locusts, not Eaten in Palestine. . . . 201 

Lot's Daughter 300 

Lot's Wife, Pillar of Salt 298 

Luxor, Ruins of 61 

Lynch, Lieut., Report on Dead Sea. 303 

Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem. ... 164 
Machasrus, Fortress and Castle. . . . 325 
Machasrus, Prison of John Baptist.. 327 



Machpelah, Cave of 172, 217 

Magdala, Home of Mary Magdalene 264 

Magi, Their Country 392 

Mahanaim, Jerash 362 

Mamelukes Massacred 48 

Mamre, Plan of 214 

Manoah's Sacrifice and Tomb. .229, 231 

Mariamne, Wife of Herod 306 

Marietta Bey, Egyptologer 28 

Mark Twain's Logic ' 26 

Mar's Hill, Athens 447 

Masada, Fortress 305 

Maudslay Henry, Archaeologist. . 177 



GENERAL INDEX. 



453 



PACK 

Mausoleum of Apis 57 

Medeniet Haboo, Temple 68 

Melchizedek, King of Salem 145 

Memphis, Capital Lower Egypt. ... 53 

Menephtah, Pharaoh of Exodus. ... 54 

Meribah-Kadesh 106, 223 

Mesopotamia in Syria 46l 

Methodius, John, Old Church 399 

Michmash, Jonathan's Adventure. . 257 

Mite, Widow's 312 

Mount Calvary. 167 

Mount Carmel 244 

Mount Gilead 350, 352 

Mount Moriah 145 

Mount Tabor 248 

Mount of Temptation 290 

Moabite Images 345 

Moabite Stone 337 

Moabite Yase and Pottery 420 

Moab, Land of 315 

Mohammed Ali 35 

Monastic Life 290 

Moreh, Plain of 258. 

Mordecai's Gate and Tomb 419 

Moses Dies on Pisgah 346 

Mosque el Aksa 159 

Mosque of Omar 157 

Mummy Pits, Egypt . 54 

Musmeih, Ancient Phaeno 400 

Naaman's House 432 

Nablous, Ancient Shechem. 261 

Naboth's Yineyard 262 

Names, Significance of 94 

Napoleon's Cruelty at Jaffa 120 

Napoleon's Repulse at Acre 237 

Natural Bridge, Lebanon 442 

Nazareth, Home of Jesus. ....... 262 

Nebo, Mount and City 342, 347 

Necropolis of Egypt 54 

Nejran, Lejah 396 

Nestorians 376 

Ninevah, Ancient Capital Assyria . . 404 

Ninevah, Interesting Discoveries. . . 409 

Noble Cave, Well of Spirits 152 



PAGE 

Oak of Abraham 215 

Oaks of Bashan 358, 367 

Obelisk of Heliopolis 43 

Obelisk of Karnak 65 

Og, King of Bashan 368, 399 

Olivet, Mount 153 

Omar Calif 157 

Ophir, Gold Mines of 101 

Oriental Khan, Inn 194 

Oriental Scenes 38, 241 

Origen, Grave of 242 

Oman the Jebusite 145 

Osher Tree, Apple of Sodom 296 

PadanAram 401 

Palestine in Relation to Egypt 23 

Palestine, Origin of Name 224 

Palestine, Present Condition 113 

Pan, Temple and Grotto 273 

Papal Occupancy of Jerusalem. ... 11S 

Paradise, Location of 275 

Pasha el Jezzar, Cruelty of. ...... . 238 

Passage of Red Sea 93 

Passover Instituted 23 

Patriarchs, God's Covenant with. . . 109 

Pella, Christians' Flight to 362 

Peniel, God Appears to Jacob at. . . 109 

Petra, Ancient Edom 101 

Pharoah's Army Destroyed 95 

Pharos of Ptolemy 34 

Pharpar and Abana 402 

Philip's Fountain 196 

Philistines, Extinct Race 226 

Philistines, Plain of Philistia 224 

Philistines, Royal Cities of 226, 228 

Phoenix, Legend of. 42 

Pi-hahiroth 93 

Pilgrims Bathing in Jordan 284 

Pilgrims to Tomb of Christ 169 

Pisgah, Mount Nebo 342 

Pisgah, Springs of 343 

Pisgah, Outlook From 34S 

Pompey's Pillar. 35 

Pool of Hezekiah 170 

Pool of Siloam 134, 202 



454 



GENERAL INDEX. 



PAGK 

Pools of Solomon 203 

Porter, Rev. J. L., Giant Cities 375 

Protestants in Jerusalem 116 

Pyramids of Ghizeh 45 

Quarantania, Mount of Temptation. 290 

Quarries of Syene 81 

Quarries Under Jerusalem 148 

Queen of Sheba 110 

Kabbah Ammon 318 

Raboth Moab, Ancient Ar 319 

Rachel's Tomb 193 

Rahab the Harlot 288 

Railroad to Persian Gulf 23S 

Railroad Up the Nile 81 

Rameses II., Statue of 53 

Rameses, Site of the City 92 

Ramesium, Colossal Statue 74 

Rassam, Mr., Archaeologist 408 

Raynald Chatillon, Lord of Kerak. . 323 

Rehoboam, Son of Solomon 67 

Relics of the old Egyptians 27 

Religion of the Hebrews. 30 

Religion of the old Egyptians 30 

Religious Fanaticism 187 

Rich, Mr., English Traveler 408 

Ridgaway, Dr., Lord's Land.307, 325, 347 

Rizpah Guarding her Sons' Graves. 255 

Robbers' Retreat, Arbela 264 

Robinson's Bridge 151 

Rock-hewn Tombs 174 

Roman Roads 319, 329, 334 

Rosetta Stone, Discovery of 29 

Salcah, Citadel 379 

Samaria, Ruins of 262 

Samson, Birthplace, Zorah 229 

Samson, Exploits of 320 

Samson, Death and Burial 231 

Sardanapalus, King of Assyria 409 

Sargon's Palace Recovered 407 

Scientific Investigations 139 

Sculpture, Assyrian 408, 410 

Sealed Fountains 202 



PAGE 

Sea of Galilee 263, 267 

Sennacherib's Palace 408 

Sennacherib's Library 413 

Sepp, Dr., of Prussia 242 

Serapeum, Great Temple 57 

Shalmaneser II., Palace of 410 

Sharon, Plain of 233 

Shiloh, Tabernacle Set Up 258 

Shushan, Ruins of 418 

Simon the Tanner's House 426 

Sinai, Mount, Ras Sufsafeh 99 

Smitten Rock 223 

Smith, George, Eminent Orientalist 408 

Smyrna 443 

Smyrna, One of the Seven Churches 443 

Smyth, Piazzi, Theories 50 

Snow Storm on Lebanon 276 

Sodom and Gomorrah 297, 299 

Solomon's Great "Wisdom 110 

Solomon's Temple, Site of 151 

Sons of the Prophets, Grotto 246 

Solomon's Wife, Pharaoh's Daughter 23 

Solomon's Gardens, Wady Urtas . . . 205 

Solomon's Pools 203 

Sphinx, Legend Concerning 51 

Stone of Foundation 152 

Stone Houses 371 

Storm on Lebanon 439 

Strong Towers 384 

Strong, Dr. James 316, 347 

Stork, Sacred Bird 445 

Suez Canal 39 

Suez, Crossing of the Israelites. ... 93 

Suez, Gulf of 91 

Subeideh Castle, Phoenician 275 

Suweideh, Ruins of 383 

Sulphur Springs, Zurka Main 333 

Synagogue, Masada 307 

Talmudic Account of Temple 152 

Tax Collectors, Extortion 114 

Tell el Kady, Ancient Dan..' 268 

Tent Life in Holy Land 112, 253 

Thebes, No Amon of Scripture 60 

The East, Country East of Jordan.. 391 



GENERAL INDEX. 



455 



PAGE 

Threshing Floor of Araunah 145 

Threshing Machine, American 237 

Tiberius 263 

Tombs of the Kings, Egypt 78 

Tomb of Tih, Egyptian 58 

Tomb of Patriarchs 216 

Tomb of Christ 166 

Tomb of David 176, 178 

Tomb of Judges 173 

Tomb of Joshua ISO 

Tomb of Stephen 182 

Tomb of Bishop Kingsley 442 

Tomb of Joseph 173 

Tomb of Rachel 192 

Tomb of Kings, Jerusalem 173 

Transfiguration, Mount of 275 

Turkish Rule in Palestine 114 

Turkish Soldiers 115, 187 

Turkish Bath 434 

Tyropceon Yalley 145, 151 

Tyre, Interesting Discovery 241 

Tyre, Cathedral of 242 

Upper Room, With Plan 177 

Ur, of the Chaldees 401 

Urim and Thummim 153 

Uz, Land of 389 

Uz, Founder of Damascus 389 



PAGE 



Yalley of Ajalon 122 

Yases, Egyptian 72 

Yases, Moabite 420 

Yaults Under Temple Platform. . . . 142 

Yeiled Women 38 

Virgin's Fountain 202 

Virgin Mary Visits Elizabeth 197 

Vocal Memnon 75 

Vyse, Col. Howard.. 48 

Wady Mojib, River Arnon 320 

Wady Musa, Valley of Moses 344 

WadyTawarik 93 

Wady Mukatteb 100 

Walk about Zion. 133 

Wailing Place of Jews 129 

Wells of Moses 95 

Wells of Abraham 222 

Well of the Leaf 159 

Widow's Mite 312 

Wilderness of Wandering 101 

Winged Globe 63 

Winged Lion 408 

Women Grinding at Mill 136 

Ziz, Cliff of 310 

Zodiac, Temple at Denderah 28 

Zoar, Site of 300 




■1 



